


The Start of Jefferson’s Hallmark Movie

by Riddleisourking, ThiefOfADHD



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alex is a war vet, Batman is the best hero, Car Accidents, Car Sex, Follows the movie The Wedding Planner but then diverts, Ham has red hair and blue eyes but hes still latino like Lin, Hamilton is a great guy, Jefferson is a wedding planner, Jefferson is the wedding planner for Eliza and Alex's wedding, M/M, Mentions of Abortion, Miscarriage Scare, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, he is the best, no really, shrugs, what do I even tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-03 11:51:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 42,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11531640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riddleisourking/pseuds/Riddleisourking, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThiefOfADHD/pseuds/ThiefOfADHD
Summary: Thomas Jefferson was slowly rising the ranks to be New York's best wedding planner there ever was. Everything seemed right, until Alexander Hamilton came into his life.Now, with a wedding to be planned, a relationship with the groom being kept under wraps, and other twists and turns, what's there to wonder besides how Thomas can contain his busy schedule? Only one thing:Why does he keep fucking his client's fiancé?HIATUS





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Unedited because I don't want to read through this whole thing again

 

 

_Thomas Jefferson was slowly rising the ranks to be New York's best wedding planner there ever was. Everything seemed right, until Alexander Hamilton came into his life._

_Now, with a wedding to be planned, a relationship with the groom being kept under wraps, and other twists and turns, what's there to wonder besides how Thomas can contain his busy schedule? Only one thing:_

_Why does he keep fucking his client's fiancé?_

 

* * *

 

 

Thomas was watching his client, she was a young intelligent bride of twenty-one with a golden brown complexion and tight dark curls that were almost as tight as his own. She was from Albany and born from a lot of money but she had forged her own path without relying on her parents and now, she stood in front of a long mirror with a circlet veil around her head and a beautiful white dress that pooled down by her ankles. She was gorgeous, even a fool could see it but, she wasn't happy.

She took one look at herself in the mirror and then started around the room muttering to herself. Pre-wedding jitters. It happened to even the happiest of couples and he had anticipated this to the letter.

“Angelica.” He called after the bride with an amused smile playing up the corners of his lips. “You look fine.” He paused for a moment and then added with a smirk, “You look better than Whitney Houston at her own damn wedding. You have nothing to worry about, darlin’.”

“This isn't going to work.” Angelica declared as she turned back to the long mirror that captured her reflection and her lips screwed up in frustration. “How do I even know if I'm marrying the right guy? He doesn't challenge me and-”

He gently squeezed her shoulder, “Count backwards from ten with me.” He urged.

She took a deep breath and she closed her eyes, “Okay.” She acquiesced.

“Ten.” He began.

“Nine.”

“Eight.”

“Seven.”

“Six.”

“Five.”  
  
“Four.”

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.” She sighed, opening her eyes again slowly with a smile now on her lips.

“Welcome back, Miss Schuyler- or should I say Mrs. Church?” He smirked. “And you shouldn't worry about marrying the wrong guy, I've been in this business for a long time and I can tell when couples are making the wrong mistake in getting married.” She eyed him warily but his smirk only widened. “And you and John are as meant to be as anyone could be.”

“I'm not too sure about ‘meant to be’, I'm not really a believer in true love and soulmates.” She said slowly as she turned back to the mirror and she gave her reflection a nod. “But I suppose it isn't that bad of a match.” She turned away from him to speak to one of her bridesmaids and he took that as his cue to leave.

He turned away with a hop in his step and walked over to a bridesmaid that was having a wardrobe malfunction and frowned for a moment, moving down onto his knees to hold her skirt, which somehow had a hole torn at the side seam. It was an easy fix and he searched through his bag for a moment before producing a bobby pin.

“Hey-!” The woman shouted indignantly as he threaded the bobby pin through the skirt, pinning the hole closed. “Oh… Thank you.” She flushed heavily.

Thomas smirked up at her and winked before getting up and smoothing the wrinkles out of his magenta jacket. He had more things to oversee.

He stepped out further into the large bridal room and he took a deep breath and turned to two men with expensive cameras hanging around their necks, “Keep to areas A, B, and C. I don't want any interference with the video tapes.” He said in passing as he continued on his way. He was a busy man and he couldn't stop to make sure they understood him.

He fitted his earpiece on and he smiled at an elder lady that was nearing her eighties as he walked up the stairs, “Mrs. Schuyler, I know who you're looking for, they're right downstairs,” He said charmingly as he passed by her.

The old woman smiled timidly at him and walked off.

Thomas finally was just outside the room where the wedding was being held and that's when he caught sight of the priest leaving and he frowned as he lightly steered him back towards the room, “Father, where are you going?” He whispered urgently.

“Nature calls.” The priest whispered back desperately.

“Father, no, the ceremony is about to start.” He hissed as he led him back into the room.

After this, he smiled self-assuredly as he fixed his buttons and he took a deep breath before entering the wedding hall and he glanced around at the bunches of flower that were generously applied to each pew and the trees that were lined up near the front beside a few candelabras. It looked like something out of a perfect wedding magazine and his smile grew as pride swelled in his chest. Everything was going according to plan.

He headed to one of the TV screens showing the footage that would eventually be captured and he took a deep sigh. A woman was blocking most of the screen and he tapped his earpiece, “Mads, go to M-12, we’ve got a woman with hair as tall as the Leaning Tower of Pisa taking up the footage on the AV.”

“Alright, Jeffy.” James went up to the woman. “Excuse me, ma’am, but you’re on a preferred seating list, so if you would so kindly follow me, I’ll take you to where you need to be.” He offered his hand to her with a smile.

The woman took it and Thomas’s attention turned away from them and he looked over the room. It was time to make magic happen.

“Places everyone.” He ordered and waited for a moment before starting. “Harold, cut the lights and Maestro on three-”

“Excuse me, Thomas.” He turned to look at the two tech guys from earlier and he raised an eyebrow at the interruption. “We can't find the father of the bride.”

_Fantastic._

“Look, I got it.” He turned away and pressed his earpiece again. “Mads, can you bring me the father of the bride?”

“I thought I already did.” He spoke back immediately.

“Incredible. Okay guys, the father of the bride is missing. Does anyone have eyes on him?” He asked as he walked off but he stuttered in his place and looked at the flower girl and cursed quietly under his breath as he turned to her. “No, no, not yet, sweetie.” He smiled kindly at her. “Count from one hundred and then start again.” He waited until she turned away with a pout and then walked off quickly. He had to find Mr. Schuyler and fast if he wanted to save this wedding.

He stopped by the groom’s room and poked his head in, “Guys, we’re about to st-” He paused as his eyes landed on a man with auburn hair and violet-blue eyes that seem to radiate ambition and challenge. He blinked at him slightly as he felt his heart start to race, clearing his throat. “We’re about to start, c’mon, get ready.”

The latino turned to him and the ridiculously gorgeous smile that had already been apparent on his lips grew and he flushed as he winked at him and took a shot, “We’ll be out soon, Mr. wedding planner.” He teased.

“Good.” He choked out, quickly pulling away from the doorway to continue looking for Mr. Schuyler.

 

* * *

 

 

After the father of the bride was found, the wedding went without a hitch. As he watched the wedding take place from an upper level, he subtly stretched, feeling himself grow exhausted pretty quickly. He’d have quite a restful night after this, he supposed.

When he got home, he poured himself a glass of wine and took out a container of salad that he had gotten from the convenience store down the street from his apartment. An old woman worked there and she always complimented his clothes and asked about his day. It was always a nice way to end a stressful day.

However, when he tried to sleep that night, he found that he couldn't help but to think back on the groomsman from the wedding and his hand slowly slid down under his comforter and under the elastic band of his pajama pants and underwear. He slowly reclined his head into a comfortable position on his mountain of black pillows and he gathered himself in his calloused hand and slowly gave himself a few pumps. The way the man’s eyes seemed to twinkle at him haunted him and he felt his skin slowly flush due to his ministrations and as he got close, his eyes slid shut and a small moan escaped into the darkness of his bedroom. He froze up with a shudder not too long after that and slowly relaxed in his bed as he pulled his hand away from himself, grimacing. He’d need to clean himself up, but alas, sleep took control of him before he could muster up any energy to actually do so.

 

* * *

 

 

“- Make me a partner.” He demanded as he stood in the large, spacious office of his boss, George King the III. “I've been here for five years and I'm the best wedding planner you've got.”

“A partner?” A sharp laugh came from the young man as he relaxed in his sleek throne that he had had made several months ago for some odd reason. “Why on Earth would I make you a partner?”

“Well, let’s see, for one, until I came along you did all this and didn’t earn jack shit. Two, I get more revenue than any of the other planners combined. Times five! And three, last but not least, you’d drop out of business if I left and made my own planning company.” Thomas smirked knowingly, he knew he had him beat and there was no way he would turn down wanting to make him a partner now.

A dark look crossed over King’s face and he huffed as he turned around in his chair like a child before finally nodding.

 

* * *

 

 

“Jeffy! I can't believe he's finally going to make you a partner!” James smiled as he patted him on the back.

“I would consider it a success.” He smirked, walking down the hallway happily as he made sure James was following either close behind or right beside him. “However, I need to get the accounts first.”

“Yes, but knowing you, you have this in the bag.” He smirked. “So, do you wanna talk about that groomsmen from the last wedding that you kept making eyes at?”

“I didn’t keep making eyes at him, Mads.” He rolled his eyes. “Besides, it’s not like he’s my type.” Even though he knew for certain from the events of last night that, oh yes, he was indeed his type. He was so his type.

“If you say so.” James said in disbelief. “Well, I'll see you after the wedding job. Good luck.”

“I always have good luck!” He called, continuing on happily as he left.

 

* * *

 

 

Another wedding was completed with no hang ups and Thomas had a bounce in his step after he finished feeding the best man a speech.

“You fed the best man his speech.” A woman with dark hair remarked in disbelief as he stepped out of the tent and his eyes scanned her and he paused on the beautiful blue sundress that accentuated her curves and lit up her dark brown eyes. It was a nice dress, he had to admit.

“Well, um, yeah. You must be Miss Eliza Schuyler, I did your sister Angelica’s wedding.” He smiled, reaching to take her hand and shake it.

Her eyes sparked with recognition and a warm smile spread over her pale lips, “Oh! She compliment your abilities greatly.” She took his hand and shook it. “I'd introduce you to my fiancé but he's not here yet, I suppose. It's pretty hard to tear him away from his writing.”

“Oh, the fiancé writes?” He smiled at her playfully. “Why don’t you tell me about him? I’m sure he’s a catch.”

“Well, he was a medic in the war and after a year of being home, he finally proposed.” She smiled sadly. “I worry about him a lot sometimes but he says not to. He's taken up writing pretty recently and he hit the New York Times Bestseller list a month back.”

“Oh yeah? What book did he get on the New York Times Bestseller list?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. He was genuinely curious, he’s been looking for a new book to start reading.

“It's a book on his life in the Caribbean before he came over here. It's called, ‘The Eye of the Hurricane’.”

“I might look into it. What do you do for a living?” He asked with a smile.

“Well, I own a private orphanage uptown.” She smiled gently. “Do you have any children of your own?”

“Um, no actually. I do not. I’m sort of tied up in my work too much to really worry about having children. Or having a relationship. I’m married to the job, as some would say.” He chuckled softly.

She laughed with him breezily, “Would you like to say hello to my parents?”

“Why, yes, I would love to.” He smiled, holding an arm out so that she could lead the way. He already knew her parents, but he knew that if he continued to make a good impression on the family, he might get hired a second time.

Sure enough, she took his arm and steered him towards Mr and Mrs. Schuyler.

Mrs. Schuyler smiled warmly at Thomas as they neared, “Thomas Jefferson! I thought I recognized your handiwork.”

“Mrs. Schuyler, a pleasure to see you again. Tell me, how’s Angelica fairing with John?” He smiled back.

“Those two can't keep their hands off of each other! I suspect that I'll be a grandmother soon enough.” She preened with pride.

“Well, let’s hope for the best.” He chuckled. “So, I heard that your other daughter,” He calmly gestured towards Eliza, “recently got engaged.”

Mr. Schuyler chuckled merrily and nodded, “Oh, yes. Ham is quite a catch.” He boasted. “You listen to me, Thomas, anything my little girl wants for her wedding, you give her. I'll pay for everything.”

Eliza’s face reddened in embarrassment, “Papa, we haven't hired him yet.”

“Yet?” Thomas mused, raising his eyebrows. Jackpot.

Eliza opened her mouth to speak but her father beat her to it, “Yes, you did such a great job with Angelica’s wedding and well, frankly, we’d love to hire you again but first: how do you envision my Eliza’s wedding?”

“Hm, well, from having met Eliza, and from the things I’ve heard about Ham … I would presume a wedding set at night. Outdoors, with white tents thin enough to see the stars. It’d be elegant, Gatsby-esque. Not a period wedding, but just the atmosphere from it all.” He started, humming happily.

From the smiles that his description earned him, he knew the job was as good as his and the next words out of Mr. Schuyler’s mouth confirmed it:

“You're hired.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Mads! Guess what?” Thomas asked with a bounce in his step as he walked down the street.

“Did you get another job?” James asked and he could hear the smile in his voice.

“Well-” His stylish cane got stuck in a manhole as he was crossing the street and he frowned as he tugged at it uselessly. “Cane- my cane is stuck.” He bemoaned and that's when he looked up to see a garbage dispenser rolling down the street and he cursed loudly and let go of it to get out of the way but it was a pretty expensive fucking cane. So, like an idiot, he ran back and kept struggling with it.

There was a blur of a hideous green sweater and then he was knocked and rolled out of the way of the garbage dispenser. When he finally managed to catch up with the lost time of whatever the fuck that was, he opened his eyes to find himself staring into the same violet-blue eyes that haunted him ever since his first Schuyler wedding.

The man panted and his eyes were wild and his hair in a disarray as he continued just staring at him with his hands on his upper arms and their faces mere inches apart, “You okay?” He breathed.

“Define okay.” He whispered, feeling helpless as he relaxed under him. “Where- where’s my cane?” He asked, so heart struck that he couldn’t make sense of anything but the man directly in front of him. “Did I lose my cane?”

“You're seriously worried about a purple cane right now?” The man gaped at him. “Did you hit your head?”

“I don’t know, but I had one hell of a fall.” He chuckled.  _For you._

“Are you experiencing any dizziness, nausea, difficulty breathing?” He asked seriously as he cupped his face.

“The breathing thing…” He felt his face heat up in his hands and he swallowed hard as his eyes darted all over the man’s face, drinking in the sight of him. “Then again, you’re right on top of me.” He added with a light, breathy chuckle and he couldn't help the smile that spread on his lips.

A cheeky grin spread on the man’s face in return and his heart skipped a beat, “You don't seem to have a concussion, I think you'll be just fine. And oh-” He produced the famed purple cane and his smile turned into a teasing smirk. “Your life is not over, for your cane, it lives on.”

As Thomas took the cane back, his eyes drifted over the man still on top of him and he returned to his eyes multiple times. “Why are you still on top of me? I mean, I don’t mind, but seriously, I can’t breathe and gravity is a thing.”

“Well, you see, you got them apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur- No, well, actually, I just hadn't gotten around to getting up.” As he spoke, the man propelled himself up and he held out a hand to him.

He sat up, taking his hand right away. “You saved my- cane. You saved my cane.” He whispered.

“Oh, of course, I was originally going for your cane but you happened to be there, so.” He shrugged.

“Oh, how charming.” He got up, stumbling slightly before slumping against him to take a small whiff of his hair. Oranges.  _Damn._  “Sorry, sorry, let me just.” He set his cane down stiffly and held it firmly. Now that he was upright, he could fully appreciate the height difference and before he could stop himself, he blurted, “Jesus, you’re short.”

An indignant noise left the man, “Gee, thanks. Do you need help getting home?” He asked softly with a small purse of his kissable lips.

 _Yeah, and also maybe to bed._ “Um, yeah, that’d be great. Thank you, you’re quite kind.” He chuckled, his eyes sliding down to his kissable lips before going to his charming eyes. Why are his eyes so amazing and why are his lips so… kissable.

“It's no biggie.” He whispered as he shifted his arm to better hold him up. “Wait, actually, are you doing anything for the rest of the day?”

“Well, I was going home to spend the rest of the day there, so no, no I’m not doing anything for the rest of the day.” He smiled, leaning into him for support.

“Great, that means you're free and that we can go get coffee.” He smirked and his violet-blue eyes lit up in excitement. “I'm Alexander Hamilton, by the by.”

Thomas had to pretend that hearing his name didn’t completely make his heart soar. “Thomas Jefferson.” He smirked back.

“Listen, I know a great coffee shop. It's actually pretty close to my place, so we can go there if you want.” His eyes were raking up and down Thomas's body appreciatively and he preened under the attention. He knew that he looked good and this basically just went to further his ego.

“I’d love to go there, if you really want. But,” He smirked at him and he carded his fingers through the redhead’s hair ever so gently. It was pretty soft and he hummed as he met his eyes. “I live alone.” He offered. Was he suggesting that they go fuck? Why, yes. Yes he was.

A small, knowing smile played on Alex's face and he leaned against him, “We could always go for coffee later and go to your place first.”

“I’d like that.” He smiled. “I live a block away. Here, let’s go.” He took his hand and led him there with a small knot of anticipation stirring in his stomach.

 

* * *

 

 

Once they stepped inside his dimly lit apartment, Thomas’s lips immediately found purchase on Alex’s. As he had thought, Alex had very kissable lips and he reveled in how soft they were as they moved together to an invisible beat and the noises that fell from his lips were nothing short of heavenly. He wanted to make sure that he heard more of them before the night was through.

A flicker of clarity sparked through the dark fog of lust and he shut the door with a loud slam and then he pressed the smaller man against it as he gripped at his hideous green sweater, yanking it over his head.  _This is going. First thing._ He tossed the offending article to the side and his hands raked slowly over the mostly malnourished body of his soon-to-be lover. Alex's lips were swollen from the kissing by this time and he couldn't help but to think about better things that the redhead could be doing with his mouth but a hand on his chest stopped him before he could ask anything.

“If-” Alex took a few breaths to control his breathing and there was a wild gleam in his eyes. “If we’re going to continue this, then I'm going to have to ask two things. One, are you clean?”

“Yes, I’m clean.” He whispered, smiling at him as he gently held his hips and ran his thumbs in small circles. “I’ve made certain that I didn’t get anything akin to anything sexually transmitted. What’s the second question?”

“Well, I love getting fucked up against doors as much as the next guy but the door knob is burying itself in my back. At this rate, I'm going to have a suspicious bruise.” He whispered as he knotted his hand in Thomas's shirt roughly. “We should move this to your bed.”

“Gladly.” He smiled, pulling him away from the door before leading him towards the back of the apartment to his bedroom. “You’re lucky, I have a luxurious bed.” He whispered, opening the bedroom door before picking Alex up and laying him on the bed, climbing on top of him as he examined his body eagerly. “I wonder what you’d look like without those pesky pants.” He teased as he removed his jacket and shirt first before trailing tantalizing kisses down his chest and stomach. Then he moved to start undoing his pants, which put up little resistance and soon, they, too, were on the ground.

This left Alex in his boxers- his  _tented_  boxers- and a low noise rumbled up from his chest as he lightly leaned down and pressed gentle kisses to his thighs, his eyes never leaving the wide violet-blue eyes that were peering down at him in surprise.

“What're you doing?” Alex asked as his hands came to rest in his hair. A chuckle left him as he continued to press kisses to his thigh, soon moving towards the tent in his boxers, licking over it slowly, causing the front to become wet. “Holy shit.” Alex's head fell back on his pillows and he spread his legs easily enough for him right away.

“You like that, huh?” He breathed against him, moving his hands to his hips slowly before removing his boxers off of him inch by inch, exposing his warm skin to the cold air almost teasingly.

“Fuck…” Alex bit down on his lower lip for a moment before chucking his boxers off impatiently.

Thomas smiled happily, and soon, he was removing his own pants eagerly. “When was the last time you’ve been with someone?” He asked.

“Well, I'm bisexual, so the last time I've been with a man was probably about a year ago.” He admitted.

“That’s more recent than me.” He chuckled, reaching over to his nightstand before pulling out a bottle of lube. “Glad I never remembered to throw this out.” He opened it, pouring a generous amount into his hand before moving to slip a finger into his entrance.

A shudder ran through his Alex and he shifted on the bed a little, “You can move.” He whispered softly.

And move he did.

By the end of the night, he even had a crack in his headboard.

 

* * *

 

 

The one night stand did him a lot of good. He couldn't remember a time that he felt lighter while walking into the dance studio that he usually sent his clients to for dance lessons and frankly, he was happy. Before he had left, Alex had given him his number and he texted him on the way to his first meeting with both Eliza Schuyler and her fiancé, Ham. What kind of name even was Ham?

_Alex: how's work so far? ;)_

_Thomas: it’s going great, just about to meet with a client ;)_

_Alex: well, that's good_

_Alex: I had fun last night :p_

_Alex: we should do it again_

_Thomas: we really should_

He pocketed his phone with a smile before slowly pushing the door open and he looked inside at the happy cou-

Alex was standing there, phone out and laughing at something that Eliza had said but the instant their eyes locked, his face turned a ghostly pale, “Thomas-”

“Yes, Thomas Jefferson, it’s nice to meet you.” He forced a smile, holding out his hand to shake.

Alex seemed to hesitate briefly and he looked like he was going to be sick but a nudge from Eliza and he was shaking his hand, “Alexander Hamilton.” He mumbled.

“So, shall we get started on the dance lessons?” He asked, taking a seat at a table, ignoring the heartache that he was currently feeling. As well as the need to burst out of there in a fit of rage.

“Dance lessons, right.” Alex nodded as he shifted with a wince.

Eliza looked over at him, concerned, “Alex? Are you alright?”

Alex nodded but he wouldn't meet her eyes.

Thomas glanced at Alex with a small pout, opening up the portfolio he had started making for them, using it to try and calm his face from flushing at the fact that he himself had caused that pain.

Eliza cleared her throat as her phone rang and she gave Thomas an apologetic smile, “Papa?” She asked confusedly after answering the call but when it became clear that the room was too noisy, she gave another smile. “Tom, can you dance with Alex?”

Alex swallowed hard and he visibly stiffened up, “‘Liza-”

“No buts! I have to take this.” She left the room quickly.

“Well, Alexander.” Thomas took his hand gently, starting to dance with him. So what if his grip on his hand and hip were a bit too tight. “Could’ve told me you were engaged.” He muttered mostly to himself, glaring into his eyes. “Would’ve saved me from the possibility of losing the job.”

His violet-blue eyes shone with desperation as he met his eyes, “Look, I- I don't know what I was thinking-” He tried.

“Oh, I think you know exactly what you were thinking Mr. We-Should-Do-It-Again.” He whispered rather aggressively. “She loves you, y’know that? And you’re destroying her trust!” He huffed.

A flash of anger came over Alex's face and he glared at him, “You don't know anything about me or Eliza.” He hissed sharply. “Maybe you should mind your own damn business!”

“She told me you’re a war veteran.” He started. “You wrote a book about when you were living in the Caribbean titled ‘The Eye of the Hurricane’, she worries about you every single day even though you tell her that she shouldn’t.” He gripped him tighter. “Why the hell should I mind my own damn business if I’m planning the day you two become one, huh?!”

“MAYBE I DON'T WANT TO BECOME ONE!” He shouted angrily but as soon as the words left his mouth, he looked shocked at himself.

“Then why’d you propose to her?” He pulled away, frowning. “Why the hell would you be doing this if you don’t want to spend the rest of your life with her?”

He took a deep breath and his eyes drifted to somewhere to the left, “She's… She's pregnant, okay?” He spoke softly.

“Pregnant?” He asked, his hurt hitting him harder as concern mingled along with it. “That’s why her parents wanted the wedding to be as soon as possible.” He whispered, finally piecing together the puzzle.

Alex ran a trembling hand through his hair and he turned away from Thomas, “Fun fact: I was hurt pretty badly while I was over there and-” He pursed his lips. “I can't have children. I'm sterile.”

His eyes snapped to Alex’s suddenly. “You don’t mean-”

“She didn't cheat. Eliza isn't the type.” A laugh left him and he shifted uncomfortably. “We were never together but we have always been good friends, we dated once in the past but it didn't work out. I think that was the for the best anyways.” He turned back to Thomas and sighed. “Two months ago, ‘Liza came to me and she was crying. She looked utterly helpless and she told me that her boyfriend had left her and I went with her to every damn doctor appointment about the baby and I was the one who went to the abortion clinic with her but she couldn't go through with it but knowing her parents, I knew that they would force her to unless… unless, I pretended it was mine and I proposed to her. I'm doing all of this for her. So, don't you dare assume that you know a damn thing about me, Thomas.” He jabbed his finger into his chest angrily.

“So, if this is what is actually going on, then does Eliza know that we…” Thomas pouted, he was honestly at a loss of words.

“Yes, she does. I was telling her all about it on the way over here. She seemed happy for me.” Alex mumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Why don’t we go sit down? I’ll get you some water.” He whispered, pointing to a bench.

Alex merely nodded as he sat down on the bench with another wince. Thomas couldn’t help but smirk to himself at hearing the wince, going and grabbing two water bottles before sitting next to him, giving him one of the bottles. He accepted it easily and took a few sips.

“You’re a good friend, y’know that?” Thomas turned to him. “Not many people would pretend to be the father of a child they knew they couldn’t have and marry someone who they don’t love more than as a friend.” He glanced down at his hands. “Sorry for accusing you of cheating on her like that.”

“It's fine, I probably would've thought the same thing but…” He paused and took a deep breath. “I'm guessing that you probably don't want anything to do with me, huh?”

“No, no, no, no, no, no. No!” He snapped to look at him, panicking. “I mean, I-” He bit his lip. “I enjoyed last night, okay? You were- Jesus Christ, you looked amazing. You still look amazing, I mean! Um… fuck.” He let out a nervous chuckle.

A blush had spread out over Alex's face and he laughed with him, “You think I look amazing?” He teased cheekily.

“Yeah. Actually, um, I’m quite surprised you don’t have a sore throat, considering how loud you were screaming.” He teased back, toying with his water bottle. “So um… would you still be interested in spending more time with me even though I called you out like that?” He asked. “I mean, God, we don’t really know each other and all I know from you is what Eliza told me.”

“That does seem like quite the problem and I guess there's only one solution.” His eyes glinted in the morning sunlight and they looked dazzling from this angle. He glanced around surreptitiously before leaning in. “You're going to have to go on a date with me. Several of them! All of the dates!”

He laughed, looking at him and he felt as though all the hurt that had resided in him had washed away. “Infinite dates, huh?” He smiled, drinking his water. “I mean, you did save me and my cane’s life, and you did sleep with me. Although, now I have a crack in my headboard that’s going to be hard to explain.” His smile turned into a smirk fairly quickly.

Alex gestured forlornly around the room, “And I would've sucked your dick in the shower too but you were like, ‘no, alex, I have work soon’.” He shook his head sadly.

“Maybe if you would wake up when I tell you to, you would’ve had time to suck my dick in the shower.” He chuckled.

“Well, there's always next time. I just can't believe you're being so nice about the ‘I'm getting married’ thing. You know that, if we do end up together that that means we could never get married?” He asked softly.

And for the first time throughout the conversation, Thomas swallowed the heavy lead-filled lump in his throat. “Yeah.” He mumbled, drinking his water.

Alex pursed his lips a tiny bit and he drank his own water quietly but he put his water bottle down after a moment, “Hey, Thomas?”

“Yes, Alexander?” He turned to look at him, gripping his bottle gently.

“Your dick felt really good inside of me.” A smug look crossed over his face.

Thomas’s face flushed a dark red as, all of a sudden, water splashed all over the both of them from the sudden clenching of his hands, which happened to be holding his water bottle.

A loud laugh fell from Alex's lips and he wiped some of the water off of his own face with the back of his hand, “Okay- okay…” He sighed as a rueful smile fell over his lips and he threaded their fingers together gently. “I actually was going to say something else but I lost my nerve, so let's try this again.” He turned and he stared directly into his eyes with a vibrancy that sent shivers down his spine. “I just wanted to say, I know that we barely know each other and that what we have right now has all the potential to blow up in both of our faces if we’re not careful but the thing is, all I have to do is look into your eyes- you have really incredible eyes, by the way- and I realize that… Despite all of the bad things that can or maybe will happen that… I'm not afraid because I know that everything will turn out the way it was meant to and if I need to wait for you, I will. I'll always wait for you, Thomas.” An inquisitive look filled the redhead’s face and he pressed his lips to his knuckles without tearing his eyes away from him. “I'll wait for you because you stir a weird feeling in me and if you just stick with me, despite my impending marriage, I'd like to be able to stir those same feelings in you.”

“I-” Thomas found himself speechless, watching the man in front of him for the longest time as he felt his heart race. “Alexander, I- I don’t even know what to say.” He whispered shyly, biting his lip.

“You don't need to say anything. I don't expect you to but I want you to know that if at any time that this gets to be too much, I'll understand but I'll still wait for you.” He leaned back a bit and he sighed softly. “I've done my fair share of running through life like I don't have any time to waste at all but I'll slow down for you. We don't need to rush this.”

He moved, taking his hand in his own as he pulled it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to it. “Tonight at 7, I’m picking you up for dinner at my apartment. You don’t have to dress at all like you’re going to a fancy restaurant. You can even come in pajamas if you want. I’m inviting you to spend the night as well, but you don’t have to expect sex. Consider it our first date. Bring everything you need for a night and morning routine.” He whispered, looking into his eyes lovingly. “But, if I’m going to make you dinner, please eat it. You’re attractive but you’re also so fucking light and thin.” He whispered, poking his side.

“That's what being in the war will do to you.” He shrugged as his smile fell from his lips and he glanced away. “I- I think I should warn you that I do have PTSD?”

“Yeah, that would happen from going to war.” He whispered, looking at him gently. “I’ve had clients that have dealt with similar problems, so I know ways to help, if you need it.”

“No, that's okay. I just thought I should warn you in case… something happens. Storms of any kind bother me a lot and I can't really handle seeing a lot of blood. I was a medic over there, did ‘Liza tell you that?” He asked softly. “A lot of my friends died on me and I-I couldn't do anything to save them.”

“She said you were a medic in Afghanistan.” He whispered. “Didn’t really get into it that much aside from saying you proposed to her after a year of being home.”

He nodded as if this was expected, “I don't tell her much about what happened over there. It's still kind of fresh to me.”

“Honestly, I don’t expect you to tell me every little piece of information. I understand that you’ve been through a lot, I won’t pry it out of you.” He took his hand in his own, squeezing it gently. “You’re safe with me, remember that.”

“I will.” He smiled as he squeezed his hand back. “But, um, standard question, who is the fastest alive, Quicksilver or the Flash?”

“The Flash, duh, he can run so fast he can fuck up a timeline ten times before fixing it again. Quicksilver isn’t that fast, and in reality, that’s best for this world. We don’t need a second version of the Flash trying to save his mother just to end up creating WWIII.” He answered without hesitation, looking at him with a smile.

“Fair opinion. What about the Tasmanian Devil and Quicksilver?” He smirked widely.

“Oh come on! That’s not fair! One spins like a top to get everywhere and the other can move so fast that time is slowed around him. I’m going with Quicksilver on this, because you can’t even see him sometimes. He can fuck shit up in literally under a second.” He pouted.

“Batman or Green Arrow?” Alex was leaning closer and his smirk had grown. “Two very rich men who were taught by the two very adequate teacher. They both have the techies and the loveable sidekicks, but who would win?”

“Win? Like, in a fight?” Thomas chuckled. “Well, um, let’s see, Batman has a bunch of teck on his belt and Green Arrow has a bow and arrows, both have their tragic backstories, hm…” He sat there in silence, trying to ponder it. “I honestly think Green Arrow might actually be able to take down Batman.” He whispered.

“WHAT? HOW WOULD GREEN ARROW WIN?” He shouted loudly over the music, attracting several eyes on them.

“Last I checked, Green Arrow was still alive.” He smirked. “Besides, he has a stronger backstory than ‘oh I’m Bruce Wayne oh no my parents were shot in an alley, and now Bruce Wayne is dead I’m Batman and brooding’, Oliver Queen has actually been through some shit man, he got a divorce, he watched his parents get mauled to death, I mean-”

“I'm going to stop you right there.” Alex slammed his hand down on the bench. “FIRST OF ALL, he watched his parents get shot in that alley way and he went and trained with someone who was probably a bad ass. He knows a lot of martial arts and the second Robin that joined his cause was tortured to the point of death by the Joker. Do we need to bring up what happened to Barbara Gordon?” He raised his brows up at him. “In an alternate timeline, his mother was the fucking joker, man. And his dad was Batman. And in Death of the Family, Joker gathered the whole Bat Family up and set them down in the dining room with cloth covering their faces. Batman was tied to a chair and he had to watch as Joker lifted up the platter lid and revealed THEIR PEELED OFF FACES. How damaging can you get? Only, it later turned out to not be their faces but that kind of thing can really fuck you up.” He took a breath before continuing. “And then Talia Al Ghul stole his sperm somehow and now he has a son with her and the son is pretty fucked up and he stole the batmobile to pick up girls and GOOD LORD, GIVE THIS MAN A BREAK because-”

“Alexander.” He interrupted, very carefully pressing two fingers to his lips. “Green Arrow isn’t that famously known outside of his tv show and comic books, and Batman has fifty thousand movies and video games. And besides, even though Batman knows martial arts, if they were to be caught in a jungle, Green Arrow would survive due to having LIVED ON A DESERTED ISLAND AFTER WASHING UP THERE.” He started stroking his hair. “Yes, yes Batman went through a lot, but honestly, Batman can’t even keep his own villains locked up permanently, how would he win a fight against Green Arrow?”

“BUT THAT'S NOT EVEN HIS FAULT, THOMAS. The Gotham police are corrupted and Arkham is literally the shittiest place ever.” Alex fumed. “At least Batman didn't turn to killing.”

“The thing is, is Batman isn’t a hero, he’s a vigilante. Green Arrow, on the other hand, he’s not a hero either, he’s a hunter.” Thomas whispered. “And I think if Batman, as Bruce Wayne, was to use his money for good, he might be able to make sure that Gotham is safer by making sure that Arkham was financially stable enough to stop being so shitty. Green Arrow was in politics- Green Arrow was the fucking mayor for Christ’s sake. He actually made sure that, politically, his city was safe, as well as made sure that his city was safe on the streets. What other hero can you say that about?”

“Hmm, Green Arrow is still a vigilante no matter how you look at it. But let's be for real here, Batman-”

“Actually, boys, sorry to break it to you but Wonder Woman would beat both of Green Arrow and Batman's asses.” Eliza smiled as she sat down on the bench with a smirk.

“Oh- uh- how long were you there for?” Thomas asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Long enough to know that both of you have the worst taste in heroes and that Alex is the cheesiest person alive.”

Alex frowned a tiny bit, “Batman is a great hero.”

“Green Arrow’s better.” Thomas muttered.

“Thomas, you can suck my dick- oh wait, you already did.”

“I don’t recall much sucking dick, I recall you begging me to before making it impossible for you to sit down without trying not to cry.” He smirked.

Eliza chuckled softly, “You two are unbelievable and I think that we should take off, the dancing class is over already.”

“Yeah, probably for the best.” Thomas got up, smiling at Alex. “See you tonight, maybe this time you’ll get to suck my dick in the shower.” He walked off, a pleased smile on his face. He could hear Alex splutter behind him and Eliza laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 10% plot, 15% smut, 75% bickering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are aware that Philip was actually the oldest between him and Theo but we reversed it to further suit this story

It took less than fifteen minutes to drive to Harlem to pick up Alex for their first date and he parked outside of the fully-bricked, high-rise apartment building in one of the two parking spaces that had Alex and Eliza’s apartment number on it. The two could only afford one car, which was a rather old blue Honda Accord, so mostly the second spot was vacant.

He glanced at his phone and the time read a quarter to seven. So, he was a little early, big deal. With this newly allotted time, he primped. He ran a comb through his hair twice to make sure that his hair was fluffed up enough and not frizzing out all over the place and one look in the mirror told him that he looked good. Good enough to finally get out of his car and head inside at a decent time, which was ten minutes before seven.

The doorman to the building blinked owlishly at him and he skirted around him as he stepped into the building.

The inside was sleek with dark tiles that held no scratch or scuff on them and the walls were wallpapered with a white design that had tan stripes on it. It was a nice design but he couldn't help but think it would look nicer with wood instead of wallpaper. He turned towards the elevators and he glanced to the front desk that was positioned to the left of the elevators and he paused by it and took a small pamphlet out of the plastic sheath it had resided in.

_‘Hell or Heaven: What Happens When You Engage in Premarital Sex’_

He slid the pamphlet into his shirt pocket and smirked. Alex would get a kick out of this, he was sure.

Turning, he pressed the elevator button and glanced up at the glass setting that showed the elevator’s slow descent back to the main lobby. It was a brief wait which left him greeted with the now open and vacant elevator, with tan wood-like walls and silver reflective metal. Stepping inside on the brownish carpet, he pressed the seventh floor button and waited.

The ride was mostly silent, save for the rather quiet elevator music, which sounded to him like someone played it on a Xylophone. He checked his watch again, eight minutes to seven. He was still going to be early, but this elevator ride was going a bit too slow for his tastes. It wasn’t until the elevator chimed to say it was now passing the fifth floor that he noticed the way his right foot was tapping on the floor. It was an annoying habit of his that had manifested in his early childhood and now, he was always tapping his foot on the floor when he got impatient.

The doors opening when he had reached the seventh floor startled Thomas with their quickness, and he almost hesitated as he stepped out of the elevator. He slowly regained his balance and he walked over to the apartment number. Once standing in front of it, he let out a nervous breath and-

“‘Liza! If you would just look at this website!” Came Alex's whining as he audibly chased after her. “We should definitely send the child there-”

“The baby isn't even born yet, Alex!” There was Eliza’s voice and he chuckled a tiny bit as he listened.

“Yeah, but it has a score of seven! Seven, Eliza! Don't we want the baby to go to the best school?!”

“That's for kindergarten, Alex. I'm only three months along!”

“The school is called Success Academy, Eliza! Just- Look, it's only 0.1 miles away!”

“We don't even have a name picked out, a nursery decorated, or know the gender and you're already thinking about schools?!”

“Well-”

“It’s always a good time to think about schools! A good school for a child might make their ability to learn in higher education less tiresome!” Thomas called through the door, smiling. “However, you should put the school stuff on the back burner because I’ve been out here for almost two minutes listening to you two argue and I rather go on my date!”

A moment later, the door was wrenched open and he was greeted with the very welcome sight of Alex in just a towel with his wet auburn hair lying tangled on one of his honey-kissed shoulders.

“Hey, you could've said something, Thomas.” Alex said with a wry grin and he pulled him inside. “Now, will you tell my fiancée that we need to decide on which schools to send our tyke to first?”

Eliza glanced up from her spot where she was curled up in a blue blanket on the deep, tan couch and she waved to him, “Tell my fiancé that it's too early to even be thinking about schools.” She called.

“Actually, if you’re going to be thinking about schools, you’d have to think about Head Start schools first, not elementary schools. But, Eliza’s right, you really should think about that further into the pregnancy.” Thomas chuckled. “I’ll go sit with Eliza while you go get dressed, hot stuff.” He smirked, winking at Alex as he walked into the living room, sitting down next to her. “Hey.”

Eliza offered him some Cheeto Puffs with a tired smile but he kindly declined them, “He's been like this all day after hearing about Aaron Burr signing Theodosia up for a private head start and she's only a year and five months old.” She chuckled.

“Wow, he’s really starting her young.” He chuckled. “I didn’t know that Alex knew Mr. Burr.”

“Oh yes, he knows Mr. Burr all right.” Her dark eyes twinkled with humor as she paused her show and turned to him. “When Alex came over from Nevis and attended Columbia after taking grammar lessons, he heard all these rumors about how Mr. Burr was able to get an accelerated program. So, after talking to the bursar about it, he punched him because the bursar thought he was stupid or something. Well, that's the excuse he always uses.” She munched on a Cheeto Puff. “And then he went searching for Burr and found him in a bar. The two hit it off for a quite a while until Burr stole my father’s seat as senator.”

“Jesus.” Thomas couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled out of him.

She smirked at him, “I know, now they have some kind of rivalry.”

“Who dares to speak the devil’s name in my humble abode?” Alex bellowed as he stepped out of his bedroom and a quick look over his body revealed that he was wearing very tight-fitting pants that clung to his sides and ass and a shirt that had a Kermit the Frog meme where Kermit was drinking tea and above it in big white letters read, ‘You want immigrants gone because ‘they use taxpayer money’ but you don't even pay taxes’, and under it read, ‘#ButThatsNoneOfMyBusiness’.

“Tasteful shirt.” He mused, smirking at him. “And for the record, I don’t recall anyone saying John Adams’s name in here.”

A chuckle left him and he kissed Eliza’s cheek gently, “You need anything before I go, ‘Liza?” He asked.

Eliza rolled her eyes and pushed his face away, “I'm pregnant not destitute. Go have fun, Alex.”

Alex pouted at her but he eventually turned to him, “Ready to go?” He smiled.

“I’ve been ready since I saw you in that towel.” Thomas joked, getting up before taking his hand. “C’mon, I rather get back to my house while I’m still young.”

Eliza smirked at them, “If you're young, then why do you have a cane?”

Alex guffawed and he high-fived Eliza, “Best of fiancées and best of women.” He teased.

“Bye.” Thomas waved at them, walking off with his cane. “I’m out! Leaving! Alex, get your cute but flat ass in gear and follow!”

“Damn, I hate to see him go but I love to watch him leave.” Alex whispered and Eliza giggled.

“Alexander!” Thomas turned around, pouting. “I told you to get your ass in gear and follow me.”

Alex scrunched his nose up at him before finally getting his ass in gear and following him but he turned around once more, “See ya, ‘Liza. If I'm really lucky, you won't be seeing me until tomorrow afternoon.”

Eliza waved him off, “Okay, have fun.” Then she turned Gilmore Girls back on and settled in.

Alex finally turned back to him, “Let's go.”

Thomas smirked, locking his arm around Alex’s as he took his hand. “Thought you’d never ask.” He teased, leading him back to the elevator.

 

* * *

 

 

The ride back to his apartment was filled with debate on whether or not Trump would ever get fully impeached and removed from the Presidential office. And they both decided that it just wasn't likely since there have only been two presidents to be impeached and neither were ever fully removed.

Soon, Thomas was humming happily as he led Alex up the steps to his apartment building, covering the pad that was on the door as he put in the code, opening the door. “You know where my apartment is. Mind unlocking it for me?” He asked, giving Alex the keys with a smirk.

Alex took them and with a wink, he walked off. As he did, Thomas made sure to slowly follow, only keeping up enough to keep a good eye on the smaller man’s flat ass and he smirked to himself as thoughts of what he could potentially do to that ass tonight surfaced in his mind.

Once they got to the door, Alex unlocked it and stepped inside first. _What a gentleman_. Rolling his eyes, he followed behind him, shutting the door as he set his cane aside and took off his coat and shoes. “Alex, did you take your shoes off?” He asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

The latino stuttered to a stop, his very muddy shoes still on him and he looked back with a sheepish grin, “Uh- no, but! But I can clean this up!” He promised as he unlaced his shoes and padded back over to him, putting the muddy shoes next to his clean ones.

“Alright, there’s paper towels in the kitchen, you’re so lucky that the floor is wood and not carpet.” He smirked, kissing his cheek and inhaling the faint scent oranges. “I’ll go start on dinner while you clean up.” He whispered, going into the kitchen quickly with a sway of his hips. “And once you clean it up, I’d love to hear all about you over a glass of Sherry!”

After a few moments, Alex managed his way into the kitchen and he grabbed a few paper towels and wet them before leaving quickly again, “Will do! Do you have any whiskey?” He called.

“I can look!” Thomas called back, opening up his liquor cabinet and ignoring the several bottles of alcohol he had in there. “Um... honey, cinnamon, apple, or…” He grabbed a bottle, squinting at it. “Maple.” He shrugged. “Which one sounds good to you?”

A pair of hands settled on his hips and oh- Alex's breath was hot on the nape of his neck, “Apple sounds good.” He whispered softly as his thumbs rubbed slow circles into his skin.

“O- Okay.” He whispered back, leaning against him as he took the apple whiskey out and replaced it with the maple.

Alex slammed his hand into the door to preserve his balance and he smiled cheekily at him, “Hey.” He whispered playfully as if he wasn't just on his tippy toes.

“Hey, short stack.” He smirked, kissing him with a happy hum. “Want me to get off of you?” He offered, winking.

Alex slowly lowered himself off of his tippy toes and he rolled his eyes, “You're not that heavy.” He circled his arms around him and pulled him even closer.

“Oh, what a gentleman.” He moved and kissed his stubbly cheek. “Let me grab a glass. How do you like your whiskey?”

“On the rocks.” He murmured as he slowly released him.

“Of course, because there’s no way you would possibly like it straight.” He teased, straightening up as he grabbed a glass.

“There's nothing straight about me.” He quipped.

“Are you sure? You said you dated Eliza.”

“I'm bisexual, not straight. Dating a girl doesn't automatically change that I like dick too.” He scoffed.

“So, when you’re single, are you _bistanding_?” He chuckled, getting ice in his cup before pouring the whiskey in.

A confused look filled the latino’s face for the longest time until finally, “Oh. OH. OH WOW.” He exclaimed in shock.

Thomas started laughing loudly, setting the whiskey bottled down. “BOOM!”

“Well, it was nice seeing you but I have to leave after that ridiculous joke.” He explained somberly as he turned and left the liquor cabinet.

“Awe, but now my dick’s going to miss being in you!” He called.

There was a pause and then Alex was back, “Oh yeah?” He asked teasingly as his eyes drifted down to his groin.

“Mhm.” Thomas nodded solemnly, a smirk on his face as he held up the glass of whiskey for him.

“Well, we wouldn't want that.” He took the glass of whiskey and downed it in ten seconds but he still made a face as he did so. “Fuck, that's strong.”

“Well, yeah, I import all my alcohol. I make sure to get the strongest kind.” He admitted, smiling at him.

“Huh.” He mused as he took the bottle of whiskey and winked at him as he padded back out to the kitchen. “So, what's for dinner?”

“Pot roast. It’s been in the slow cooker all afternoon. I’m just now making the sides for it.” He smirked as he stepped around him and headed to the stove. “It should be done soon.”

“Sides? Alright.” He shrugged as he sat down at the kitchen table and poured himself another glass of whiskey. At this rate, he’d probably be drunk before dinner was even over.

“You should really pace yourself, Alexander, I don’t want to end up dealing with your massive hangover in the morning.” He teased, humming to himself as he started making a sauce in a small pan.

“Hey, I can hold my liquor.” He pursed his lips indignantly as he sipped at the whiskey.

“Yes, but that’s 80-proof. Are you sure?” Thomas raised an eyebrow, looking at him with a smirk. He knew fully well that even he, himself, would get drunk at that much alcohol consumption, and he wasn’t a lightweight.

“Of course I'm sure.” He rolled his eyes.

“Alright.” He shrugged, turning away. Alex was going to get drunk, he could already tell.

 

* * *

 

 

True to his prediction, Alex started giggling during their meal after his fifth glass of whiskey and he slowly leaned over the table, knocking a glass of water off in the process and he whispered into his ear, his breath was hot and he could smell the whiskey off of it, “C-can I… Here, lemme- I gotta tell you a SECRET.” Alex spoke with a small giggle.

“Alright, alright, you can tell me the secret.” Thomas whispered, kissing his head. “Mind sitting down though, we’re all alone.” He didn’t know what to think of Alex’s drunken state, it was new and fun, but at the same time, he was basically a child.

He looked around, confused for a moment and then he grinned at him, “Holy shit, we’re alone.” He whispered, already forgetting about his big important secret that he just had to tell him. “Y-you know what that means?”

“Yes, but do you think you could tell me?” He asked, smiling as he started cleaning up what Alex had knocked over.

He slowly got up and he blinked for a moment before finally righting himself and he sat down on Thomas's lap, “That means that we can get frisky.” He whispered as his hand went to his zipper and he started tugging it down. “I can make you feel so good.”

A flush filled his face as he tried his best not to let his excitement get the best of him, he needed to think rationally. “A- Alexander, you’ve been drinking. I mean, are you sure you want to do this?” He asked, ignoring the stutter of panic in his voice.

“Fuck…” He laid his head on Thomas's shoulder and he smiled against his skin. “Y-you're so nice to me, Tomtom.”

“I-” He paused, simply hugging him close as he disregarded the nickname. “I try my best, Alex.” He whispered, kissing his forehead as he stroked his soft hair. “Are you finished eating? I can get you some more if you’re still hungry.”

Alex gripped the front of his shirt tightly and he yawned sleepily, “T-Thomas?”

“Yes, Alex?” He looked into his violet-blue eyes, falling slowly into their mystical pools. So rare, so gorgeous.

“Please don't leave me.” A note of vulnerability filled his voice so much so that his breath hitched at his plead.

His eyes slipped out of the mysterious slumber he was put under to look over Alex’s face, gently cupping his cheek. “You don’t have to ask, I’ll never leave you. I promise.” He kissed his nose, laying his head against him so that his cheek was pressed into the redhead’s forehead. “You’ll never have to worry about me leaving, Alexander.” His voice cracked slightly, clearing it as he held him tighter. “I’ve got you.”

Alex blinked slowly and he smiled as he moved and rest his head on his shoulder again. Not too long after, he could feel drool puddling there.

Thomas slowly got up, carrying Alex as he took care to clean up their dishes, slowly taking him towards his bedroom. He laid him down in the bed, slowly tucking his hair behind his ear with a smile as he pulled the blankets up to cover him. He turned to his dresser, keeping quiet as he started changing into his pajamas. And once that was done, he slowly slid into bed with him, smiling happily at the sleeping man, ignoring the fact that he still hadn’t replaced his cracked headboard.

Then he braided his hair to lock the moisture in and once that was done, he slowly fell into a restful sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

“ ‘Liza, are you sure you're okay?” Alex's voice was distant as he groggily woke up and he glanced to the alarm clock on his bedside table. _09:43am._ He reached around blindly and grabbed his glasses, sliding them on. Slowly sitting up, he looked around his room in search of Alex, getting up when he found that he’d need to search the house.

“Look, I'll get a taxi or something and come straight- Elizabeth Schuyler! You're in the hospital, I'm not going to stay here and twiddle my damn thumbs.” A pause. “I know, I know… I'm just so worried. But the baby and you are okay?”

Thomas slowly found his way to the kitchen, looking in to find Alex. The man was gripping the counter tightly and his hair was in a disarray. Very slowly, he approached, hugging him close as he fixed his hair gently. “What’s going on?” He mouthed, knowing fully well that he shouldn’t be heard on the other side.

Alex shot him a quick look and held a finger up, “The nurse, huh? Wow, you work fast.” He smiled a tiny bit but his lips were quivering. “What's her name? What does she look like?” He glanced off to the side as he gripped Thomas's hand tightly. “Maria Lewis, huh. Didn't you mention in one of your letters while I was overseas that you guys dated for awhile before you got with- Oh, so she finally got away from that abusive husband of hers?”

Thomas squeezed Alex’s hand, looking at him worriedly as he kissed his hand, he didn’t know what the hell was going on, and that was terrifying to him.

“Yeah, okay. I love you, Eliza. Be safe. Thomas and I’ll be there soon.” He said softly and when he hung up, he quickly pulled him into his arms tightly. “She had to go to the hospital this morning, she was spotting and she and I both thought that she was miscarrying but the doctor said that it's normal and that she should be okay but that it was a good idea in coming in anyways.” He released a shaky sigh. “Jesus, Tom. I can't lose either of them.”

“I know, it’ll be okay. I can assure you, I’ve had older sisters and aunts who have had that happen to them.” He kissed his forehead gently. “I’ll get my shoes and coat on, I suggest you do the same.” He led him out of the kitchen.

Alex nodded and he ran his fingers through his hair with a stressed look, “God, I feel sick.” He shoved his shoes on and he wiped at the wet lines on his face that Thomas hadn't noticed before. “I know the baby isn't actually mine but I've been there since the beginning and it feels like it is.”

Thomas nodded slowly, swallowing hard as he got his coat and shoes on, going into the kitchen for two bottles of water to bring along with them. “I understand perfectly, Alex. It happens.” He came in and handed him a water. “Here, this might help.”

He accepted the bottle of water and took a small sip, “I took some aspirin earlier for my hangover, I hope that's okay? I probably should've asked first but you were sleeping pretty deeply.”

“It’s perfectly fine, you didn’t want to disturb me.” He smiled, taking his hand gently. “C’mon, let’s go see Eliza.”

 

* * *

 

 

Alex crossed the hospital quickly to where Eliza was already signing out by herself and he hugged her tightly, “You scared the shit out of me, ‘Liza.” He sighed shakily.

Eliza smiled as she turned and hugged him back, “I'm fine, Alex.” She chided as she carded her fingers through his hair. “And I have a date this weekend.”

Thomas watched them with a smirk as he stood behind Alex and he raised an eyebrow at them both. “That’s great, Eliza.” It was nice to see that Eliza was trying to get back on the dating market and he didn't feel half as bad about taking Alex from her now.

Eliza pulled away from Alex and she fixed them both with a playful smile, “You wanna meet my date? You never did get to meet her when I dated her the first time.”

“Actually, now I’m curious.” He admitted, looking at Alex with a small smile. “Do you want to meet her date?”

Alex nodded solemnly, “I just have to prepare the shovel talk.”

Eliza frowned at him, “No shovel talk. She's really nice, Alex.”

Alex scoffed a tiny bit, “We’ll see.”

Thomas found himself overly confused by all of this. “What the hell is shovel talk?”

He squinted at Thomas, “Huh, I would've thought Eliza would give you the shovel talk by now.” He mused.

Eliza shook her head, “I trust him.”

“I-” Thomas stood there, stuttering in confusion as he looked from Alex to Eliza. Whatever a shovel talk was, he was glad to not be a part of it.

“Oh! There she is!” She gestured to a woman with long, curly brunette hair and brown eyes and Alex was walking his way over to her right away. “Wait- no, Alex!”

Instead of doing this ‘shovel talk’, he spoke to her inaudibly and shook her hand before walking back to them with a big smile on his face. “She's pretty nice, Eliza. I hope she treats you well.” He said softly and Eliza smiled back.

Curiosity was eating him alive by now and he couldn't wait for Alex to tell it on his own, so he asked: “What did you even talk to her about?” Thomas raised an eyebrow at him.

“I asked her if she was left or right leaning.” Alex shrugged, as if this was an ordinary question to ask your fiancée’s date. Which, for Alex, it probably was.

“What did she say?”

“Well, to put it in her own words, ‘fuck politics’.” He intoned solemnly.

“I see.” Thomas nodded with a smile. “So anyways, I might need to get home and fix this mess that is my questionable reasoning behind why I allowed myself to go out in public like this.”

Alex picked up a braid and gently swung it, “I like it, you should braid your hair more often.” He smiled.

“I braid my hair every night.” He pouted. “You could watch me if you didn’t fall asleep so quickly.” He teased, gently pulling Alex’s hand away from the braids.

“Ha ha, very funny.” He smiled as he glanced to Eliza. “You ready to go home? I can drive if you want?”

Eliza nodded gently and she looked up at Thomas, “I think we've decided on having the wedding at a vineyard. Will you go look at it with us this Saturday?”

“Of course, what else is a wedding planner to do?” He smiled, hugging Eliza gently. “Neither of you are to mention seeing me like this, okay?” He glanced between them warningly.

Her eyes lit up mischievously, “Of course, Thomas.”

_Click!_

Alex had his phone out and he had just taken a picture of him.

“Alexander…” Thomas slowly looked at Alex, the sheer rage from hearing him take a picture settling in his bones. “Delete that damn photo.”

Alex's face paled and he glanced at Eliza, “It was nice knowing you.” He took off running.

Eliza looked to where Alex was quickly escaping through the front doors and then she looked at Thomas and then went back to talk to Maria with a shrug of her shoulders. After she left, Thomas took off after Alex.

“ALEXANDER!” He called loudly, looking around for him as he ran.

Alex let out a loud whoop and he watched the redhead quickly slip into Eliza’s car and the beeping sound of the doors locking resounded in the parking lot. 

Thomas caught up with him and gently smacked the car window. “Alexander! Get your ass out here before I pick the damn lock and drag it out!”

Alex stuck his tongue out at him and he smirked as he kicked back the seat and relaxed as he gazed up at him from his eyelashes, “What was that, Thomas?” He called innocently.

Thomas pursed his lips, reaching into his hair to get a bobby pin out, bending it before sticking the flat side into the lock, fiddling with it for some time. “I’m not fucking joking, Alexander! Open the door!”

The smile fell from his lips and he sat up with a huff and opened the door.

“Thank you.” He smirked, picking Alex up like he weighed less than a bag of feathers. “Now, we never got to fool around last night.” He mused as he gazed into his eyes. He felt the heat slowly rising into his cheeks as he thought about who could possibly walk by and see them, and he hated to admit that it was mostly from embarrassment from his current look.

“So, you want to do this now, at the hospital.” Alex asked dryly as he raised his brows up at him.

“Why not? Do you not want to be seen crying out in pleasure?” He pressed him against the car, leaning in to whisper into his ear as he nipped at it. “Don’t want any random stranger to walk by and hear you moaning for me like a little slut?”

“Oh god…” He whispered as he locked his legs around his hips. “If we do this, we’re doing this in your car.”

“Good, wouldn’t have it any other way.” He chuckled, shutting Eliza’s car door before setting Alex down. Excitement was bubbling through him as he took his hand, dragging him to his car.

Alex was moving quickly after him, “Thomas- slow your roll. You must be pretty excited, huh?” He joked.

“Yeah, ‘cause we couldn’t do anything last night and in a sense you could consider me a needy and greedy bastard.” He smirked, turning to pull Alex close once they got to the car, unlocking it. “Get in back.”

Alex didn't hesitate as he quickly crawled into the car and he exhibited no restraint as he started shoving his pants down, showing off his honey-kissed legs.

“Damn, someone’s eager.” He teased, getting in after him before locking them both inside the car and he dipped down to kiss and bite at Alex’s legs and thighs. A low groan was his reward and he smirked against his skin as he worked his lips until there was a small mark.

“Damn right, I'm eager. I've been waiting for two days for this.” He mumbled as he leaned up and shoved Thomas's jacket off and discarded it on the floor of the car beside his own clothes. Then he was pushing at his shirt and that soon was on the floor too. “Look at you, you're so gorgeous.” He whispered as his cold hands traveled up his chest slowly.

“Fuck…” He breathed, pulling him into his lap as he shifted his pants off. “Ride me.” He begged, desperation seeping shamelessly into his words.

Alex's eyes sparked with excitement and he smirked, “I thought you'd never ask.” He purred as he gripped both of their arousals, stroking them slowly. His head slowly rested on his shoulder, and Thomas got an earful of the delicious moans falling past his lips.

“Here, let me.” He whispered, grasping them both as the smaller male let go, speeding up the pace. He’d do anything to hear more of his moans.

“W-wait, fuck-” He whispered as he gripped his shoulder and he looked around the interior of the car for a moment. “Do you have lube in here?”

“I might in the glove box. If there isn’t actual lube, I’m almost certain there’s vaseline. That’s a good substitute.” He let go of him, kissing his collarbone. “Mind getting it for us?” He asked.

He nodded jerkily and he moved out of his lap and with one knee on the compartment between the front and passenger seat, he reached over and yanked the glove compartment down and grabbed the lube. This gave Thomas a great view of his ass and he reached and gave it a squeeze as he took a picture of it. Hamilton deserved it anyways for taking a picture of him earlier.

Alex jerked at the sound of the click and he quickly turned around with a glare, “Was that a camera? What the fuck, Thomas?” He tossed him the lube as he climbed back into his lap.

“Well, let’s just say it’s revenge for taking a picture of me earlier.” He smirked, opening the bottle before getting some on his fingers and he rubbed it around, heating it up before slipping one of his fingers into Alex’s entrance. “Besides, it’s great material to look at when we can’t have sex.”

A shudder passed through the latino and he sighed shakily, “Whatever, just don't send it around or anything.” He whispered before pressing his lips against Thomas’s own and he responded eagerly by nipping at his lower lip until Alex parted his lips and he held him close as he greeted his tongue with a low groan. It had been too long since he had last kissed Alex like this.

As the kiss grew sloppier, Thomas slipped a second finger into the smaller male, moaning against his lips as he rutted against his thigh, which elicited a surprised moan from the other. His hooded eyes slowly trailed over Alex’s face, pausing to admire his flushed cheeks before meeting with his eyes and he slowly pulled away from the kiss with a smirk. Alex's own lips were swollen from the kissing and he ran his free thumb over his plush lips. Without hesitating, Alex nipped at his thumb and wrapped his lips around it and sucked at it with a playful spark in his eyes. _Damn._

“Oh fuck-” He breathed, slowly slipping his fingers out of Alex as he fiddled with the lube, making sure to evenly coat his arousal. “Alex.” He kissed at his neck, nipping at where his jaw and neck met. “Ride me.” He whispered again, tugging his hip downwards with a whine. He was growing needy.

Alex wasted no time; he gripped his arousal in his hand and he slowly pushed himself down on him until he was buried to the hilt and he groaned softly as he hid his face into his shoulder, “Fuck, you feel so good in me.” He whispered.

“Yeah?” He asked, kissing his neck slowly as he rocked into him slowly. “You feel amazing around me.” He smirked, nipping his ear slowly, his hands resting on his hips as he watched the smaller male pull up on him, soon slamming down and leaving the both of them groaning loudly.

This, much to Thomas’s delight, remained the same pattern that slowly grew desperate and erratic for about five, possibly six minutes, before he gripped Alex’s thighs, tugging him down and flipping him down onto his back, taking over. The loud moans that left the latino drove him insane as he felt his skin burning up. He watched Alex grip the shoulder of the front seat next to him and he chuckled as he found his hips being locked in by his legs. Just as Alex let out a loud, guttural moan and came in between them both and he released inside of him.

As they laid there panting in the wake of their mutual climaxes, Alex ran his hand over his braids once more with a blissed out smile, “That was something.” He whispered softly.

“Mhm.” He smiled, kissing his neck happily before glancing over the marks he left on him. “Damn, I really did a number on you, huh?”

“I loved every moment of it, babe.” He smirked softly. “I still don't get why you're so self-conscious of your braids. I think they look sexy. I think you look sexy.”

“Alexander, you say that as if you don’t realize that the braids isn’t something that I’d let my clients see me with.” He smirked back, kissing him slowly. “I just prefer not having them.”

“But you'll let me see them?” He asked softly after pulling from the kiss.

“That’s because I’ve been inside you, it’s different.” He buried his face into his neck. “And because I like you.” He quietly added.

“I'd like to be inside you,” He mumbled softly and a smirk lit his lips. “I like you too, Thomas.”

“You what?” He raised his brows up in slight shock as his cheeks darkened and he held him close as he gazed down at him. “You want to be inside me?” While the thought never occurred to him before, it still didn't sit right with him. He liked being the one in control.

“Yeah, I'd like to fuck you until all you can think and say is my name.” He smirked. “We’ll have to try that sometime, huh?”

“Well,” He started, pinning him down suddenly. “How about fuck no?”

A cheeky grin lit Alex's face and he couldn't help but to return his smile, “It's like that, is it?” He teased as he relaxed onto the seat and laid back with his head on his arms. “I don't mind being your bottom bitch, Thomas.” The words sent a thrill down his spine and he nipped at his chin.

“Good.” He smirked, kissing him slowly, reveling in the feeling of Alex's lips gliding against his own. “‘Cause you’re gonna be my bottom bitch for a long time.” He hesitated, letting go of him as his hand slowly slid into Alex’s, gently squeezing it. “Well, that is, if you’ll be my boyfriend first.”

Alex's breathing hitched audibly and he licked his lips, “Of course, I'd love to be your boyfriend.” He said softly. Thomas couldn’t help but feel his heart skip a beat as a loving warmth filled through him.

“Really?” He asked, dipping down to kiss him happily. “We’re telling Eliza, though.” He warned, smiling at him.

“Well, I was planning on that anyways. Knowing her, she’ll probably bake us a cake or something.” He chuckled happily. “We should get dressed, she's probably wanting to-” His phone went off and he grabbed his pants and dragged the red monstrosity out before flipping it open. Alex had a flip phone. “Oh, she's going home to get laid by Maria. Looks like you're stuck with me for the day, hon.”

He smiled, taking Alex’s phone before taking a picture of the two of them. “Send that to her.”

“Oh, so, you can take a picture of you with braids but I can't.” He scoffed as he hit send after dragging Eliza out of his contact list.

“Well, you were underneath me and we’re both naked, so it was a good opportunity to say that you’re a few steps ahead of her.” He smirked.

A smug smirk filled Alex's face, “Damn right, I slept with you twice and then convinced you to be my boyfriend because you'd have access to this hot body twenty-four seven.”

“That’s quite accurate.” He chuckled, kissing him sweetly and Alex leaned into it with a sigh.

“I guess we should get going before somebody sees us, huh?” He mused.

“Yep.” He nodded, moving to get dressed before climbing over into the front seat, starting the car and soon, he pulled out of the parking lot and they were on their way back to Thomas’s.

 

* * *

 

 

When they got back to Thomas’s apartment, Alex raced in, kicked his shoes off and ran straight to the living room. Thomas quickly followed after him, a smile on his face. _What a fucking dork._

“Alexander, what’re you doing?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Alex had kicked his pants off and made himself comfortable in just his Kermit shirt on the couch and he was scrolling through Hulu, “Hey, Thomas, they have Dawson’s Creek on here! We could totally skip to the episode with Dawson ugly crying over Joey!” He called.

“Sure, but I’m making popcorn first and you’re going to switch into one of my shirts!” He called back, going into the kitchen happily. This was the best he could ask for and there was a soft padding as Alex went to Thomas’s room and he listened to it contently.

“What the fuck?!” Alex shouted loudly.

“What?” Thomas called back, pouting. What could possibly be wrong? He knew that all of his clothes were nice and clean, he couldn't think of a single reason for the scream.

A few moments later, Alex padded into the kitchen with a Red Sox t-shirt, “What is this, Thomas?” He asked sharply.

“It’s nothing!” He snatched the shirt, balling it up with a pout. “Forget about it.”

“HOW CAN I FORGET THAT YOU HAVE A RED SOX T-SHIRT IN THIS, THE CITY OF OUR GREAT GODS, THE NEW YORK YANKEES?” He cried.

“BECAUSE IT’S NOT MINE!” He snapped.

A look passed over Alex's face quickly, too quickly for Thomas to decipher it, “I see.” He had calmed down a lot.

“Yeah. I don’t know why I still have it, I’ll throw it out.” He mumbled.

He glanced off to the side awkwardly, “It's fine, I still have my ex’s sweater.”

“Wait, you do?” He asked softly. “Oh no, it’s not that ugly green monstrosity, is it?”

His face slowly reddened, “So, what if it is?”

“We have one thing in common, and that is our ex’s had terrible tastes.” He joked, pulling him into a hug as he pressed his cheek against his forehead.

“You don't… Um, you don't have feelings for him anymore, right? I'm not a rebound?” He asked slowly as he leaned into him. Thomas could feel the sadness from Alex, and he had to make sure he knew the truth.

“Alex, I’ve been out of that relationship for two years. You’re not a rebound, and I am over him. I promise.” He looked down at him, kissing his head sweetly as he sighed against his hair. “The only feelings I have for anyone are for you.”

“Okay, I was just checking.” He gazed up at him, his violet-blue eyes shining brilliantly. “You ready with that popcorn? I do believe that an overly dramatic teen is calling for us to watch him cry.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you were a child actor!” He teased, waiting for the light to die in Alex’s eyes.

Sure, the light dimmed a little before coming back in full force and he clicked his tongue at him and frowned, “You know what, maybe I'll go find my own Pacey. Goodbye, Dawson Leery.” He headed off back to the couch.

“Maybe I wanted you to be the Peyton to my Lucas!” He called, using more old 2000s tv shows to get his point across because how else would you.

“LUCAS SUCKS, BE MY NATHAN AND I'LL BE YOUR HALEY, SWEET CHEEKS.”

“I’LL BE YOUR NATHAN IF YOU GET BACK IN HERE AND KISS ME!” He tried his best not to start laughing, a huge smile on his lips.

A series of quick foot falls later and Alex was back in the kitchen and the latino tugged him down to his level, which he quickly obliged, and then they were kissing. And if that didn't make his heart soar from the way Alex's rough lips moved against his as if he needed his kisses to survive then he didn't know what would.

Thomas eventually couldn’t take the slowly growing pain in his upper back anymore and reached around, squeezing Alex’s ass before pulling him up and close, officially picking him up so that he could straighten out. The only kind of straight he will ever get. Then he set him down on the counter but not before squeezing his ass once more. A low moan left Alex and he chuckled as he pulled away from the kiss and watched the dazed look in his eyes dissipate, “That good, huh?”

Alex managed a small nod and then smirked, “I bet Pacey kisses better.”

“Oh, fuck you.” He smirked back, nipping at his lower lip teasingly.

“Please, you already did that twice.” He teased as he tugged at his shirt. “I'd love to see this come off,” He whispered but then he frowned and he slowly pulled out a pamphlet. “What-” He read it slowly and his face slowly turned red as he flipped it open and read through. “Oh no, Thomas- Thomas, look. It says I'm going to hell.”

“Good, I didn’t want to go all alone.” He smirked, kissing his neck before removing his shirt, pulling him closer to the edge of the counter and himself. “Maybe when we get there we can have some fun?” He asked, ignoring any fact that would state that _something_ of his was poking very dangerously close to Alex’s crotch.

Alex's hand moved down between them and he gripped that _something_ and raised it from perdition, “Fun? Sure, let's fuck right beside Stalin when we get there.” He murmured softly as he stroked him.

A low moan left him, burying his face into his neck. “Or, how about instead of predicting what we’d do when we get to hell, we just fuck right here in front of my microwave?”

“The microwave? Think about it’s feelings, do you think it wants to see some raunchy sex?” He scoffed.

“It’s seen all the other bullshit I’ve done, so why not fuck my sexy boyfriend and make him scream in pleasure right in front of it?” He asked, rubbing his thighs slowly. “Besides, it’s just a microwave.”

“Well, I was thinking that instead, we could get a shower and I could…” He licked his lips slowly for emphasis and winked.

“Meet you in the bathroom.” He smirked, pulling away from him as he rushed to the bathroom. “C’mon, Alex! Move that flat ass!”

  
“I'm coming, I'm coming!” He called loudly and ten minutes later, he was indeed coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no regrets


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! We got a brand spanking new summary and isn't that just the coolest thing ever?

The drive to the vineyard that Eliza and Alex were going to be using for the wedding and reception party wasn’t all that long normally, but somehow, with the silence in the car as Thomas drove, with nobody else to accompany him, it felt as though he were driving for ages on end. Of course, it wasn’t his fault that he ended up driving alone, as Eliza’s parents were begging Alex to ride with them, and he couldn’t stand in their way about something like that. So, he sat there in the silence, wishing he could’ve been able to drive with Alex and have a conversation.

At least it wasn’t a total bust, switching from the view of the city into a more country-like region with trees filling the sides of the road leading up to the vineyard was a lovely change. It reminded him of Virginia, when he lived with his family before moving to New York to live out his dream of becoming a successful wedding planner.

When he pulled into the long, ovular driveway, he saw that he had been the first to arrive there, and decided that, while he was waiting, he’d park and look around the area. It was quite a beautiful place, after all, and he wanted to get a lovely outdoor view to see if the outdoor wedding portion was going to be the best option for them. So far, it was.

The vineyard, which while mostly there were bundles of grapevines growing everywhere, there were also several different trees and bushes framing the property, giving the entire area a forestry feel. The sun was shining on areas that made the area come alive, but there were also plenty of shaded areas that made it the perfect area for sitting down and having an afternoon lunch.

As Thomas walked around towards the back, he saw a large, marble and white-wooden gazebo, going to it slowly. Leading up to it, however, showed a couple of clearwater ponds, which held several lovely plants sitting inside just barely above the water. The steps were small and easy to step on, perfect for little children to walk up and down, and soon, stepping underneath the large gazebo’s roofing, he saw a chandelier. _Guessing that there’s electricity running to the gazebo, perfect for night weddings._

A series of loud sounds from car doors opening and slamming shut echoed on the property and it was followed by voices, all speaking at the same time, refusing to let the other finish speaking. A beat later, the voices made their way to the back and Eliza was the first one that he noticed. She was wearing a short blue dress with flecks of white on it and it hugged her sides. He could just make out the faintest hint of a curve, illustrating her pregnant state.

“Mr. Jefferson!” She called with a coy smile on her painted red lips.

“Ah! Miss. Schuyler!” He called back, smiling as he waved at her, pulling from the gazebo to carefully jog towards her. “Are your parents still making their way here?” He asked, finding himself looking over the barely showing pregnancy bump more than anything else.

A dark look crossed over her face and she sent an annoyed look towards the front, “Oh, they're coming.” She assured him.

“- Not all of the Japanese-Americans were even a threat!” Alex's voice boomed over the other voices and his heart skipped a beat from hearing it. “And the terrible conditions of the camps that they were forced to reside in- I don't care if it was war, Mr. Schuyler, there is no good reason for us to have imprisoned other Americans just because of their Japanese heritage. Did you know that a lot of the prisoners- No, that's exactly what they were- a lot of them died because we didn't get them good medical help!”

“I see the car ride was… quite argumentative.” He whispered to her, patting her shoulder. “Alexander!” He called loudly, moving towards Alex’s loud words. He was a bit giddy, he hadn’t seen him yet today, but he could tell that Alex would look more handsome than ever.

A blur of an ugly shade of green crashed through from the front yard but stopped halfway to Thomas and then Alex walked calmly towards him and he took the time to- oh, what the fuck? Alex was wearing a puke green button-down shirt, a creamsicle orange jacket that was wrapped around his waist, and smiling egg pajamas pants.

“Alexander Hamilton!” He called loudly, quickly rushing towards him before grabbing his arm, tugging him off to his own car. He couldn’t have this, who could’ve let him out of the house like this?! Who in their right mind saw his outfit and was okay with it, it was a monstrosity and if it weren’t for his cute face, Thomas would’ve gagged on-sight. “We’re not having this, you’re changing your clothes, I have spare ones in my trunk for you.” He huffed, acting as if he were a PTA mom with a messy child.

“What? No way. I like my outfit just fine.” Alex argued petulantly as he pulled away from Thomas, frowning. “I look just fine. Eliza even said I do.”

“She’s pregnant and pretty, you look like you didn’t know whether we were going to a poorly dressed party or a sleepover.” He huffed. “Besides, Eliza probably didn’t want to hurt your feelings, but in all honesty, puke green is never a good color, it doesn’t go with creamsicle orange, and never- and I mean _never_ \- wear pajama pants to a vineyard!” He picked him up and flung him over his shoulder, carting him off to his car in quick strides, ignoring Alex's vain struggles to escape. “If you want me to, I’ll even dress you myself. You might not want to get married to Eliza for love, but you have to at least pretend you are. That means dressing appropriately.” He pouted, squinting at him. “She picked this vineyard, and you’re going to end up costing yourself a ticket to not getting married here.”

Eventually, Alex stopped struggling and he relaxed into Thomas with a sigh, “I can walk, Thomas. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and I guess, I just wasn't thinking too much about the repercussions about not choosing an appropriate outfit.”

“You didn’t sleep last night?” He raised an eyebrow, opening the back passenger door before setting Alex inside the car, pulling away slowly. “Stay, lay down, relax, keep your hands out of your pants. I’ll be back in a second.” He went to the trunk, opening it before pulling out a pile of green and blue clothes, humming to himself as he examined them, making sure not to unfold them. _Perfect._ “Alex, I think I found the best clothes for you.” He went to him and his thoughts slowly went back to when he and Alex had sex in that very car. Moving a hand, he quickly slammed the trunk shut, kneeling into the car before plopping the clothes onto the smaller male. “Here.”

The latino took them quickly and he turned around as Alex dressed to give him some semblance of privacy. He wouldn’t have normally done so, however they were in the presence of the Schuyler’s. Once he felt a hand squeezing his own, he turned back around, smiling at the newly-changed redhead.

“That is so much better, now your outfit matches your good looks.” He teased.

Alex rolled his eyes but he was smiling as he stepped out of the car, “Thanks, Thomas. We better catch up with the Schuylers but I'm pretty sure they've already sealed the deal with this place. It's pretty nice, huh?” He leaned against the car and he tucked his hands into his pockets. “But it's kind of cold.”

“Here, I’ve got a sweater underneath this.” He slipped off his black jacket, exposing his plum sweater-vest over a lilac dress-shirt. “Slip this on.” He offered, smiling at him as Alex did as he requested. The jacket was too big for him and he drowned in it. It was adorable. “I looked around a bit, there’s a gazebo that has an electric chandelier, it looks perfect for a nighttime outdoor wedding.” He whispered, looking around to make sure they were alone before kissing his cheek. “You look adorable in my jacket.” He whispered.

Alex smiled sheepishly at him, “If you weren't a giant, we wouldn't be having this problem.” He waved one of his arms and the sleeve dangled. “But I guess that's good about the electricity thing.”

“Agh! Stop being so cute!” Thomas let out a noise and hugged Alex tightly. “And yeah, it’s very good, that means if there’s a way to connect more lights in the area, we won’t have to have thousands of cables needing to be hidden.”

“Well, as long as the wedding looks nice and Eliza is happy with it, then I'm happy.” He shrugged with a playful smile but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Thomas couldn’t help but think about what Alex had told him back at the dance studio. ‘ _You know that, if we do end up together that that means we could never get married?’_

“Okay.” He whispered, swallowing hard as he moved to shut and lock the car. “Anyways, we should go look for the Schuylers, don’t want to end up too far behind them.” He changed the subject, the aching in his chest was proving difficult to breathe through, even if it didn’t show on the surface.

“We should.” Alex agreed but he made no move to leave. Instead, he was looking off to the side at the green pastures and he sighed. “Sometimes, I wish-” He paused and frowned as he pushed himself off of the car. “Nevermind.”

“What? No, tell me.” He took his hand, squeezing it tightly as he looked into the violet-blue pools that were his eyes, his own giving him a warm look. “Sometimes, you wish… what exactly?” His voice dropped low, holding a soft and sweet tone.

“It's just that- I wish sometimes that I hadn't proposed but then I remember that Eliza’s parents would have urged her to get an abortion and she really wants this baby. I really want this baby. I couldn't just hang her out to dry like that, especially after her boyfriend left her.” He sighed softly.

He nodded gently, hugging him and he relaxed as Alex returned it. “Can I ask a personal question, Alex?” He asked softly.

The redhead straightened up in his arms and searched his face for a long moment before nodding slowly.

“You said you two were together once before, what happened?” He looked at him, swallowing hard. He didn’t want to push Alex, so he quickly added onto his words. “I mean, I understand if you don’t want to bring it up, but… you care about each other a lot.”

“Eliza and I dated for three months in high school and we quickly figured out that we’re better suited to being friends.” Alex explained as he kicked a pebble. “It was a mutual decision. No feelings hurt.”

“Ah.” He nodded, looking at him with a small smile. “Y’know, I’m actually glad you proposed to Eliza. Otherwise, I doubt we’d never would’ve met. I mean, if it wasn’t for me getting the deal in planning her wedding, I would’ve never gotten distracted and gotten my cane stuck, and then you wouldn’t have saved my life.” He looked down at the ground. “I’m glad we were able to meet like this, y’know?”

“Yeah, I know.” He squeezed Thomas's hand gently.

“Alexander! Mr. Jefferson!” Mrs. Schuyler called loudly from the back. “Are you coming?”

Alex curses, “We should- Let's go.” He leaned in, stealing a kiss before running off towards the back. Thomas watched him run off, his face heating up immensely as he smiled, running off after him. If anything, this made his day better. Alex kisses make everything better. (Including blowjobs.)

 

* * *

 

 

The venue was booked for October, that was three months away. Thomas smiled at Eliza softly, patting her shoulder. “So, October wedding.” He whispered, humming at her. “Since we’ve got the venue booked, do you think we should start on wedding dresses and such?” He asked.

Eliza turned to him and a mischievous smile lit up her face, “Actually, I'm wearing my mother’s dress like my sister Angelica did. Alex, however, why, he doesn't have any kind of tux to use. And we both know he has no sense in clothing.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “If only there was a man that could go shopping with him.” Her eyes slid to Thomas meaningfully.

“I think I have the perfect thing for this.” He smirked, stars in his eyes as he turned to Alex. “Alexander, we’re going to have a splendid time getting you a tuxedo for your wedding!” He smiled, taking his shoulders as Alex paled with a wine glass in his hand. “I have a personal tailor that I met through my best friend, and hopefully by next year I get to plan their wedding as well, but besides the point: we’re going to get you fitted perfectly!” He turned to Eliza happily. “Eliza, dear, refresh my mind, what are the wedding colors?” He asked, batting his eyelashes.

“Burnt Orange, Ivory, Chocolate Brown & Orange.” Eliza supplied quickly.

Alex looked around him like the confused ginger cat gif, “I think I'm being kidnapped by two psychopaths. Help.” He tried.

Thomas moved, whispering into his ear. “Oh trust me, I’ll be your hero tonight.” He smirked, winking at him when he pulled away. “But that sounds perfect, I’ll call up my tailor and set an appointment for Alex’s measurements.” He pulled out a notepad and pen, scrawling down the wedding colors before putting them away, sipping his wine with a smile.

Alex, seemingly garnering no help, looked to them both with a frown, “Well, I guess we’re doing this then. Thomas, my rock, my hero, my kidnapper, call me with a date and time. Or, call Eliza. Either works, really.”

“Alright, I will.” Thomas smiled, looking around, his smile slowly fading into a look of confusion. “Eliza, where did your parents run off to?” He asked.

“They're tasting the wine, they're choosing the brand that we use since I won't be drinking.” She shrugged.

“I see.” He nodded, and with that, he kissed Alex. “I honestly cannot wait until we get back into the city, I miss being able to give you extreme affection.” He whispered, taking his hand in his own tightly.

“I like extreme affection.” Alex admitted. “Almost as much as I like your d-”

“Ma!” Eliza called as her mother and father started walking towards them.

Thomas was quick to let go of Alex’s hand, slipping his own into his pants pocket as he started to quickly drink his wine. He glanced at them, waving politely. “Mr. and Mrs. Schuyler, how was your departure from the group?”

Mrs. Schuyler shrugged, “It was so so, we found a nice wine at least.”

“Domaine Ramonet Montrachet Grand Cru.” Mr. Schuyler added.

“A white wine, huh?” Thomas smiled, swirling the red wine in his glass slowly. “Sounds lovely.” He glanced at Alex, waiting for his response. “Alexander, thoughts?”

“I'm not really a wine man, I'm more of a whiskey kind of guy. So, whatever they picked out, I'm sure it's a nice choice.” Alex smiled easily at the older couple as he sipped at his own red wine.

Mrs. Schuyler wasn't impressed, if the way she sniffed and looked away was anything to go by, “I don't understand how you can be so unrefined to prefer such tasteless liquor.”

“Ah, well, at least I don't think the States were in the right about-”

“Ma, let's go look at and estimate where we could put the tables!” Eliza cut in as she steered both of her parents away but not before shooting Alex a frown. Thomas could practically feel the fear flooding him from the second-hand frown alone.

Alex winced and looked to Thomas, “Well, then.”

“What was that all about?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “Was it from the argument from earlier?” From what Thomas remembered, it was about the World War II Japanese-American Camps that the United States had.

“Yeah, her parents just don't like me.” He shrugged as if he didn't care what Eliza’s parents thought of him and knowing Alex, he probably really didn't.

“Is it because you’re smart and are quick to argue about your points?” He asked, smiling at him. “Besides, whiskey isn’t a “tasteless liquor”, it’s just not as sweet as wine is.” He added, trying to make Alex feel better.

“It's not a big issue, they just like pointing out when I do anything that doesn't live up to their standards.” He spoke through a yawn. Why the actual hell did Alex have to end up being so cute when he yawned. He could compete and win a cuteness battle with an entire litter of puppies if he wanted to.

“I have an idea, when it’s time to go, I’ll offer to take you home, and I’ll let you sleep on the way. Does that sound good?” He asked, taking his hand once again, threading their fingers together with a small hum, feeling the roughness of the latino’s hands in his own. They reminded Thomas of a simpler time.

“Actually, that sounds great. I could do with being away from her parents for a little while.” Alex sighed heavily.

“Yeah?” He hugged him close, kissing the side of his head before leaning in to smell Alex. _Oranges._ He was going full-out creepy today. “Maybe if you’re still tired after the drive, I could just let you sleep at my place.” He wouldn’t fully admit it, but he did love watching the redhead sleep. He was just so beautiful when he slept.

“Yeah? You really are kidnapping me.” He chuckled lightly. “It's okay though, I consent to you kidnapping me.”

“That’s good.” He turned his head, making full eye-contact with him. “‘Cause I plan on kidnapping you more frequently.” He whispered.

“Ah, kinky. Thomas, that's kinky.” He smirked as he stole one of his hands and kissed each individual knuckle.

He watched him, his face flushing a darker red than the wine they had both been drinking. “If you really got to know me, you’d see how kinky I can actually get.” He breathed, pressing their foreheads together.

“Is that an offer?” Alex asked coyly.

“Yes, yes it is.” He pressed up against him, looking around. “I saw a bathroom not too far away from here, wanna see how long I can hold my breath?”

An odd look crossed over Alex's face, “How long you can hold your breath? This got too kinky too fast. I'm not choking you, Thomas.”

“Jokes on you, I don’t like be choked. But, just so you know, if we ever end up alone in a hot tub, my breath holding record has been four minutes and thirty seven seconds.” He winked.

“Are you suggesting that you're going to be giving me a blowjob in a hot tub?” A huge grin cracked his lips and he looked away as he snorted.

“Well, my apartment building does have a hot tub.” He mused, grinning back as he pulled him close by his hips.

“Well then, let's go.” He whispered teasingly.

 

* * *

 

 

**Bonus:**

 

_Alex’s POV_

 

Alex was peering down at Thomas and he couldn't stop laughing at the ridiculousness of the entire situation as the man tried to give him a blowjob under the damn water. His entire body was shaking with how much he was laughing and he eventually helped him back out of the water.

“Look, I don't think this is working, Tom.” He whispered with a huge grin on his lips as he cupped the Virginian's face in both of his hands.

“Oh yeah? And why don’t you explain why this isn't working.” He whispered back, his hair was covering his entire face and it was fucking adorable. Holy shit.

“Well, for one, I just can't handle seeing this huge puddle of dark hair pooling around the water and it's just ridiculous. Sorry, babe, I can't. It's too funny.” He shifted and pushed Thomas’s hair back from his face and he kissed him gently, humming happily when he returned it.

“Maybe if I tie my hair up? Or would you rather we do another sexual hot-tub related thing?”

“The latter sounds good to me.” He shifted and his eyes fell over the muscled chest of his lover and he licked his lips in anticipation. “What should we do? Play Marco Polo?”

“Sure, that sounds fun.” Thomas kissed his way down his neck slowly and he closed his eyes as he relaxed into the press of soft lips on his skin. It was almost ticklish but not quite, it stirred a fire in him and he bit down on his lower lip.

“Hon, I'm not playing Marco Polo with you- Oh. Oh okay. This- I like this.” He whispered lamely as the kisses trailed lower, down on the hollow of his throat and he trailed his hands down Thomas’s sides slowly.

“Marco.” He whispered, kissing more roughly as dark hands moved down his chest towards his hips.

“Oh, fuck…” He gripped the side of the hot tub tightly as a moan fell from his lips. “Polo.”

“Marco.” He nipped his neck, a hand going into his swim trunks before Thomas started stroking him and his head fell back and he sighed as he bucked his hips up into his hand.

“Polo.” He whined as Thomas’s hand sped up, the other slipping off both pairs of swim trunks. It wasn’t long before a pair of hips were against his own, grounding down against him.

“Marco.” He travelled up to his ear, nipping at the earlobe sweetly.

“Polo. Polo. Polo! Polo!” He shrieked as his hands went into Thomas’s hair and he held him close as he came with a low whine and Thomas’s name on his lips.

“I win.” He whispered, still grinding down against him as he teased at his ear, wiping away at the mess Alex made.

Alex made a noncommittal noise as he reached between them for Thomas’s dick and he stroked him quickly, “Fuck you.” He murmured.

“I was hoping that that you could be a me.” He gasped out, bucking into his hand. “Fuck.” He whined.

“Call for me, Jefferson.” He whispered in a gravelly tone as he slowed his hand down. “Tell me you want from me.”

“God- Alex! Fuck, I want you. I want to be in you.” He gripped his shoulders. “I want t- oh Jesus, I want to make you scream for me.” He swallowed, panting as he pressed closer to him. “Fuck, speed up if you’re going to just stroke me off.”

He liked seeing Thomas like this, so needy and desperate for him and he leaned forward and slowly trailed his tongue along one of his nipples before wrapping his lips around it and sucking it while his hand sped up.

“Je- Alex!” He called, pressing up into him as he started shaking. “Fuck-” He tensed up pretty quickly, moaning out as he came, his hand gripping Alex’s hair tightly.

Alex hummed as he pulled off of his nipple and he kissed him gently before leaning back and smiling at Thomas, “Good, huh? I have the magic touch.”

Thomas nodded, slumping against him as he panted. “Jesus, you’re good.” He whispered, taking his hand happily. “Should we go downstairs to the apartment and shower before bed?”

“Yeah, we should but first, if anyone ever asks, we did not sexualize Marco Polo.” He joked as he stroked his fingers through Thomas's soft hair slowly. He liked the feel of it as it fell through the gaps in his fingers.

“My lips are sealed.” He promised. “Do you like my hair?” He asked softly, his dark mahogany eyes flicking over his face.

“Thomas, I love your hair.” He admitted as he booped his nose. “It's so soft and what the fuck, man. My hair is so eh.”

“What? No way, your hair is this sweet, slick, orange-smelling Adonis hair.” He pursed his lips. “It goes with your beautiful eyes.”

“Oh, yeah?” He asked amusedly as he gazed down into Thomas’s eyes and he felt his heart lurch for him.

“Mhm.” He smiled. “You’re amazing, Alexander, everything about you is eccentric. I can’t help but look at you and think that you’re the man that I-” A pause. “That I’m going to spend a lot of time with for a very long time.”

Alex searched his eyes for a moment before leaning in and kissing Thomas gently. Then he stood up and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist before heading out of the bathroom but he paused at the doorway and he looked back at him, “Coming?” He asked softly. “We have so much to do.”

“Yeah, I’m coming.” He smirked, getting up before getting his own towel. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're going to hell, bye


	4. Chapter 4

After their tryst in the hot tub, Thomas successfully convinced Alex to stay the night and he gazed over the top of his book at his sleeping lover with a small smile on his lips. Alex was lying spread out, one leg strewn halfway across the bed and the other hanging off of it, along with one of his arms. His other arm was shoved under a pillow and he looked so calm like this, so pliant and unworried. He gently smoothed the pad of his thumb over one of his eyebrows and hummed softly to himself. He could feel the bump of a scar there and he frowned. Where did it come from? The war? Childhood incident? The hurricane? It's pretty sad that there could be a whole host of reasons for it. In the short time that Alex had been alive for, he's gone through so much and his heart sank in his chest as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

A quick glance to his alarm clock read that it was about a quarter to one.  _ Shit _ . It was getting pretty late and he had to be at the office in seven hours to arrange for Eliza and Alex’s cake testing, so he reached over Alex to turn the lamp off and time seemed to slow down and before he knew it, he was on his back with a knee in his gut and Alex's arm was pressing sharply into his throat.

Thomas could see his obituary now, considering the lack of air he was getting.  _ Thomas Jefferson, a successful and charming wedding planner, was found dead in his apartment by the hands of his client’s fiancé, who he was having sexual relations with. He died after being attacked by the sleeping man. More in the obituaries. _

He gently patted at Alex’s arm, gasping for air as best as he could. “Alex.” He whispered raspily, and in the darkness, he was starting to see white spots. “A- Alex!” He patted a bit harder, he was really having difficulty breathing. He needed help. He needed one of those life alert necklaces from those commercials where the elderly lady would scream ‘help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!’

“Fu-” He gripped his arm tightly. “Al!”

Alex snarled down at him, his eyes were locked on him but they weren't seeing him. They were seeing something else but he did let up a little on his throat, “Where is he?” He spat out.

“What? Who? Alex, it’s me!” He gripped his arm, starting to shake him. “Alex!”

Alex blinked and he was finally seeing him and his eyes filled with horror as he scrambled away from him, “Oh fuck, Thomas- shit, are you okay?” His hands were trembling as he swept some of his hair back from his face.

“I- yeah. Yeah, just scared me, that’s all.” He whispered, swallowing as he gently touched his sore neck. “Started suffocating me there, though.” He admitted, looking at him.

“Fuck, I- I can go sleep on the couch. I didn't mean…” The frustration was clear on his face and Thomas was quick to move close to him, pulling the latino into his arms, stroking his hair.

“Alex, it’s okay. You didn’t mean to do that, you were asleep.” He was trying to convince himself that Alex was only asleep more than he was trying to convince Alex, but nonetheless, he was trying his best to calm him. “I got you awake, it’s okay. Please, don’t leave.” He took his hand, squeezing it gently as he kissed his forehead. “I- does this happen a lot?”

“Only on bad nights, I just- I revisit the war in my dreams sometimes.” Alex said quietly in a defeated voice.

“The PTSD.” He mumbled, pulling him into his lap as he rocked him and Alex's head rested on his shoulder. “I understand how badly that can affect a person. It’s okay, you don’t have to feel ashamed about it.”

“You're not going to force me to talk about it?” He asked, surprised as he eyes darted up to his eyes.

“No, not at all.” He cupped his cheek, looking into his violet-blue eyes lovingly. “If you don’t want to talk about it, then you don’t have to. It’s perfectly okay.”

“I'm not ready to talk about it just yet. Eliza is the only person who I've talked to about it, I would barely leave the house until she started sitting me down to help me through my issues.” He admitted. “She's the one who convinced me to see a therapist.”

“Do you still see the therapist?” He asked, taking his hand before squeezing it gently.”

“Only after episodes.” 

“Like this one?”

“Yeah, exactly like this one.” He sighed. “I'm sorry, Thomas.”

“You don’t have to apologize, you’re not the one at fault for your problems. They happen sometimes.” He kissed his forehead. “So, you’ll be seeing that therapist tomorrow? We have that cake tasting thing to plan.”

He nodded and he gazed at him hesitantly, “I think I should go sleep on the couch, I don't want to hurt you again.”

“If you go sleep on that couch, chances are I’m going to end up joining you halfway through the night.” He pressed his forehead against Alex’s gently and he smiled. “You really don’t have to go sleep on the couch, I honestly rather you stay here.”

He shifted a bit and finally sighed as he laid back down on the bed, “Okay, I'll sleep here.”

“Thank you.” He laid down next to him, holding an arm out as well. “You can lay closer if you want. You won’t hurt me again, I know you won’t.”

He shook his head simply, “I don't think we should push our luck.” He rolled over to his with his back facing the wall and he curled up there. “Good night, Thomas.”

“Night, Alexander.” He whispered, laying flat on his back as he looked up at the dark ceiling above them. 

That night, he didn't get a lot of sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

There’s always that sound of unrelenting death that both people with hangovers and people who haven’t really slept all that much share: a MOTHEFUCKING ALARM CLOCK SCREAMING IN YOUR FACE.

Thomas groaned loudly at the sound, shutting the alarm off as he laid in bed for awhile, slowly noticing the cold side of the bed next to him. Looking over, he saw the lack of Alex. He sat up slowly, Alex had probably decided that once he had, somehow at some time, fallen asleep to go stay on the couch.

He got up, suddenly regretting doing so as he dragged his way towards the kitchen. He didn’t even think about anything as he saw the hot pot of coffee and got down a mug, pouring it. He turned to sit at the table, soon seeing Alex. There were shadows under Alex's eyes and he looked remarkably paler than usual.

“Oh, hey.” He mumbled, drinking his coffee quietly as he burnt his tongue.  _ Smooth, Thomas. _

“Hey.” Alex murmured back as he sipped at his own coffee.

“So, um.” He trailed off, he didn’t want to talk about last night, he couldn’t bring up the courage to. “Cakes.”

Alex glanced at him for a moment before looking away again, “I'm ready to talk about it.”

“What?” He sat down next to him, looking at him. “I- alright.”

“I was a medic overseas, you know this already but I'm reiterating it.” He took a deep breath and his gaze flitted around the room nervously. “I was a medic and well, there were a lot of us but I only really got close to this other medic named… John Laurens.” He pursed his lips and he took a swig of his coffee. “John was nice to be around, he was brave and very energetic. He believed in the cause that we stood for whole heartedly and he was only nineteen when he died. But before that, we were best friends. We did everything together when we weren't fixing up the soldiers that kept coming into the infirmary tent. He- I loved him. I loved him so fucking much and he was so…” He took a deep breath and bit down on his trembling lower lip.

“He was all that you could have ever imagined.” Thomas added, looking at him to see if he was correct, taking Alex’s hand in his own.

He nodded as he squeezed his hand tightly, “Yes, he was too reckless though.” He closed his eyes and Thomas wanted to hold him and take away whatever it was that he was remembering. “A boy no older than ten walked into camp one day and he was limping, there was blood all over him. It was clear that he was injured and I was the first one to see him and I pointed it out to John. John ran over to him first, he told me to stay put and I just let him go-” His voice cracked and Thomas could feel his heart break. “The boy was just a diversion, he had a bomb strapped to his chest and I didn't notice- nobody noticed until it was too late. John… Oh god.” Alex sobbed as he buried his face into his hands. “He only wanted to help him, why did he- fuck!” He slammed a hand down on the table, rattling the cups sitting on it.

“Alex, c’mere.” Thomas urged, grabbing his shoulders gently, tugging at him to pull him close to his chest and Alex wrapped his arms around him tightly as he sobbed into his shoulder in between hiccups.

“He didn't deserve to die. He had a daughter waiting for him. I don't even know where his daughter is now. She's probably lost in the system.” 

Thomas couldn’t find any words to say, running his fingers through Alex’s hair as he held him tightly. He didn’t know what to do, condolences don’t seem to be a good option, then again, most things don’t seem to be a good option when it came to responses. So, he kept silent, pressing a small kiss to the top of Alex’s head.

“It should've been me.” He whispered as his sobs finally died down. “John should be the one alive.”

“And if it were you, then Eliza wouldn’t be having her baby, we would’ve never met, and he’d be sitting at home with his daughter thinking that it should’ve been him instead of you.” He squeezed him tightly. “Alexander, I know you miss him, and it’s hard to get over a death of someone you loved, but you gotta think that maybe he would want you to live a good, long life. He would want you to live for you, for the both of you.” He grew silent, holding him in the silence.

The silence was deafening but Alex finally lifted his head up and he roughly wiped away his tears, “You're right but that doesn't mean that I can just forget him. He mattered. He loved me and I loved him, he’ll always have a place in my heart. Are you really okay with all of my baggage?” He asked quietly.

“Yes, Alex. Everyone has baggage. Yours is your boyfriend died, and you’ll always love him. I understand that. It’s not like I’m trying to make you throw away everything about your past that made you who you are.” He caressed his cheek gently, looking into his eyes. “Nothing about your past will ever put me off on caring about you.” He admitted, smiling softly.

He nodded quietly and he sighed heavily, “So, cakes.”

“Cakes.” He nodded, silent. “We’re tasting them today, for the wedding. Bride and groom. A lot of cakes. Just- just a lot of cakes. It’s going to be a cake orgy.”

 

* * *

 

Alex had only ate three his way through five slices of cake with Eliza and already, the man look pretty done with the whole affair.

“Alex, try this one. It's coconut.” Eliza suggested.

Alex fixed her with a look as he hesitantly ate a bite of it and then promptly shuddered, “Too sweet.”

Thomas rolled his eyes, sitting on his phone scrolling through Facebook as he sat next to them. “And how many cakes have you claimed to be too sweet today, Hamilton?” He asked, glancing at him with a raised eyebrow. “This man just hates sugar, I swear.”

Eliza nodded solemnly, “He doesn't even like red grapes.” She tsked softly.

“What kind of fucking monster is he?!” He joked.

Alex looked at them both, affronted, “I'm sorry for liking green grapes more!”

“Who hurt you?” Thomas whispered, scooting closer to eat some of the coconut cake curiously. He had skipped out on food earlier, but now, now he was starving. “Ugh- fuck.” He had to quickly grab a napkin. “Jesus Christ.” He didn’t like coconut.

A smug look was on Alex's face and he went back to eating the carrot cake slice that he had tasted earlier and he scooped the icing off of it.

Eliza shook her head, “I think we should just give him carrot cake without icing and mine, we can do…that one white cake that was mixed with the cheesecake stuff.”

“Which one is that?” Thomas asked, discarding the napkin he used to remove the toxic waste of coconut from his mouth. “I’m curious as to what it tastes like.”

Eliza looked around the table that was laid out with numerous cakes and she picked up a small platter and gave it to him.

It only took one bite, only one, and Thomas was moaning in delight. “FUCK! This is better than sex.” He smiled, eating more of it. “Why is it so good?! Alexander, why the hell did you pass this up? It’s better than anything combined!”

“Better than sex? Can that cake make you c-”

“I see you are enjoying the cakes?” The caterer, a young blonde woman with deep brown eyes asked in a honey voice.

Eliza nodded and she went to her, “I think we’ve decided on carrot cake for one of the cake tiers and white cake with cheesecake for the other tiers.”

Thomas smiled at Eliza, looking at the caterer before leaning over to Alex, whispering into his ear suddenly. “It probably did.”

Alex huffed, “Well, then, I guess you don't want any tonight.” He mused.

“I’m joking! I’m joking! Hey, calm down.” He pinched his side, pouting.

“Alas, I don't know how our relationship could ever survive your affair with this cake.” He sighed dramatically.

“Okay, let me know when the soap opera ends, because this cake is the shit man. It is the shit.” He poked his cheek gently. “By the way, what the hell does carrot cake taste like?”

“It tastes like love and acceptance.” He glanced at him and gave him a fork full of carrot cake.

“What the fuck why is this good?” He gasped, eating it happily. “Seriously, why is it so good?!”

“Because it tastes like love and acceptance.” He reiterated with a smirk.

“How come my ma never made this then?” He looked at him, realizing quickly what he said. “Uh- um… I mean, she made a lot of baked goods. Never this.”

“Well, maybe she just didn't know the recipe?” 

“Maybe.” He mumbled, eating more of the carrot cake.

Eliza walked back over to them, “We have the cakes selected and the caterer confirmed with the bakery and they'll be doing them in October.”

“Sounds perfect.” Thomas smiled, looking at Alex, who was smiling and it did things to his heart.

“That's great, ‘Liza! Now, all we need is my tux, the flowers, and the guest list.” He looked at Thomas and he wasn't embarrassed to admit that he lost himself in his violet-blue eyes for a moment.

“Anyways, let’s go. We’ve got the flower appointment next week, and Alex, I talked with my tailor, the measurements is planned for in two weeks.” He smiled at him, taking his hand and Alex squeezed it tightly.

“Oh, yeah? I can't wait to meet him. What's he like? Your tailor?”

“He’s actually pretty nice. He knits in his spare time. I think you’ll like him.” Thomas mused as he lightly twirled a lock of his hair gently.

“What's his name?” Alex leaned into him and he slipped his arm around his waist as he led him back to his own car with Eliza trailing by them. She was busily texting away on her phone. Probably to Maria.

“I don’t really know his last name, but he goes by Herc.” He kissed his cheek. “He works at Mulligan’s Tailoring.

“Huh.” Alex murmured thoughtfully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, that happened


	5. Chapter 5

Alex sneezed as they trudged through the second flower garden on the huge estate of a local florist that they would be getting the bridal bouquet from. Thomas was ahead of him and tugging on his sleeve, he was leading him through the garden, just him. Eliza was busy with a bridal fitting for her mother’s dress and postponing the flower arrangement with this particular florist wasn't possible.

Upon arriving at a bed of orange camellias, he smiled and leaned down, tugging Alex down with him. “Did you know that camellias don’t have a fragrance?” He asked, showing him the beautiful creamsicle orange flower with a happy hum. His eyes ran over the latino’s face, hoping to catch any sign of interest, disinterest, or any sort of emotion but mainly, confusion just rested on his face. “Also, their common meanings are desire, passion, refinement, perfection, excellence, faithfulness, and longevity.” He added quickly.

Alex wrinkled his nose and he frowned, “Faithfulness, huh? And why are we getting flowers without a fragrance? Isn't the whole point of flowers is that they are supposed to smell well?”

“Maybe if this was a first date.” He scoffed as he straightened back up. “It’s a wedding bouquet, what really matters is appearance. Hm… so maybe these, throw in baby’s breath because that’s how you brighten up a bouquet, and tie it together with ivory lace?” He asked, looking at Alex for his opinion.

Alex only blinked in even more confusion, “Ivory… Baby breath, yeah, okay.” 

“You don’t know a single thing about flowers, do you?” He leaned in close to his face, studying it as if he had only this moment to look at him. His eyes kept drifting to Alex’s eyes, finding himself hypnotized to them.

“Of course I do!” He argued petulantly and those very eyes lit up with a brief flash of doubt. “Roses are… uh, they're perennials?”

“Yes, yes they are.” He pressed his forehead to Alex’s, smiling softly at him. “Good job, you know a basic fact about roses.”

“See, I know things about flowers.” He teased with a lilting smile.

“Oh yeah? What’s the symbolism of a lisianthus flower?” He smirked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, you see… They mean, uh, fuck you.” He nodded a bit to himself at this adequate description.

“Actually,” He started, poking Alex’s nose with a huff. “They symbolize an outgoing nature and appreciation, unlike what you have. Do you know what appreciation is?” He pouted.

“Oh, something that John Adams doesn't have for this country?” He asked innocently.

“Wow, you do know.” He joked, rolling his eyes. “Anyways, the lisianthus comes in flower color ranges of white to pink and lavender to purple. I- um, well, the flower reminds me of you.” He whispered softly. “Because it has bi-colors of blue-violet. LIke your eyes.”

“Huh, keep complimenting me and I'll end up back in your bed tonight.” He smirked.

“Yeah? Well, if you’ve ever seen a blue-violet lisianthus, you’d know how gorgeous they look.” He whispered, taking his hand gently. “They remind me so much of your eyes, Alexander, it’s baffling.”

“Hmm… Well, tell the florist about our arrangement choice, I'll be in the car.” He sneezed again and he blinked a bit. “Flowers hate me.”

“Awe, poor babe.” He kissed his forehead, hugging him close as he hummed. “Go ahead and go wait in the car, I’ll tell the florist that way he knows. Shouldn’t take more than two minutes, maybe three.” He whispered, stroking his hair. “I think there’s some tissues in the glove compartment if you need them.” He offered.

“Thanks.” He gave him a quick kiss before hurrying out of the flower garden. He watched him leave with a happy smile, soon getting up and hurrying to the florist, ready to tell him what he needed.

 

* * *

 

 

After they arrived to Thomas’s apartment, Thomas was quick to drag Alex into his bedroom, hoping to demolish his bed some more. Which, he managed to do, as the crack in his headboard had now gotten bigger.

He flopped down next to Alex, his heart was still racing and his breath was still attempting to catch up and he closed his eyes. “Did you enjoy yourself, baby girl?” He breathed out as he pulled the sweaty latino into his arms and he felt him stiffen up. “Alex?”

Alex pulled himself roughly out of his arms and he sat up, a wild look was in his eyes as he panted softly, “Don't call me that.” He whispered. 

“I- what? Why?” He glanced at him gently, gripping the bedding as worry flooded him.

“John used to call me that.” His voice wobbled as he turned away, his back was to him now and Thomas quickly wrapped his arms around him, holding him tightly as he pressed his cheek to the redhead’s back.

“I- shit. Alex, I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” He whispered, his hold on him tightening slightly, afraid to let go.

Alex took a few deep breaths and he reached down, taking one of his hands and he squeezed it tightly, “I miss him.”

“I know.” He nodded gently, squeezing his hand just as tightly. “Alex? Do you need anything?” He asked, not moving his head from its place on his back.

“I think it's time for me to go to South Carolina.” He said quietly as he disentangle them both and he got up, gathering his clothes. “I never went to his funeral and I have never visited his grave once. You stay here, do the decoration and guest list with Eliza. I need… I need to do this.”

“Alright. Stay safe, okay? Call either me or Eliza when you get there.” He watched him, swallowing hard as he found that his saliva was more like acid. “Alex?” He shifted in his bed, tugging the blankets up slightly to wrap around himself tightly. “You’ll come back, right?”

Alex turned back, a determined look in his tired eyes, “Of course I will. You're not getting rid of me that easily, I just need some closure.” He dressed quickly and just as quickly, he was gone. The only remnants of their night together was the still warm space on his bed that smell of sweat and oranges. Thomas made sure his lights were off as he rolled over to the space, falling asleep with the scent pressed up to his nose.

 

* * *

 

 

Two weeks had gone by with nothing except for short texts from Alex, which Thomas had replied to almost instantly each and every time. He couldn’t place why, but just the thought of not being around Alex made his chest hurt and very slowly, he had moved from his own apartment to staying in Eliza’s apartment, staying in Alex’s room to be as close to the man as he could while he was away on his travels. Even then, his nights were growing rougher and rougher.

Eliza was sitting at the table with him, he was only in his pajamas but she didn't seem to mind. She sipped her decaffeinated tea as she went over a list of guests that they had compiled together. “Aaron Burr can't be invited, Alex would throw a fit and probably challenge him to a duel right during the wedding.” She chuckled lightly.

“Right, yeah, sorry.” He mumbled, drinking his third cup of coffee within that very hour. His heart was pounding in his ears, he was shaking, and sleep was still filling him. Why can’t caffeine work properly?

“It's not a big problem but I don't think we should seat General Washington and his wife here, he's practically a father to Alex and they should probably be seated near my parents.” She mused as tapped the seating chart for the reception.

“Ah, alright.” He grabbed his pencil, moving the Washington’s over closer to the Schuyler’s. He was lucky he penciled in the names first before typing out the complete seating arrangement for the people who set up the reception.

“And I'm not sure if we should invite-”

_ ‘Revvin' up your engine _ __   
_ Listen to her howlin' roar _ __   
_ Metal under tension _ __   
_ Beggin' you to touch and go _ __   
__   
_ Highway to the danger zone _ _   
_ __ Ride into the danger zone’

He quickly scrambled for his phone as Eliza fixed him with an odd look. He finally grabbed it, answering it with a flushed face. Why did he have to pick that ringtone? “Hello?” He yawned, his face reddening even more. Could this get any worse for him? He was doubting that it could.

“Hey.” Alex breathed. 

Apparently it could get worse, “Alex! Hey. What’s going on?” He asked, looking at Eliza as his sleepiness was quickly torn away from him and replaced with longing. He missed Alex dearly.

Eliza’s face softened and she gently squeezed his hand.

“I'm uh, I'm heading home. I may have, well actually, yeah. I punched John's dad?”

“You what?” Thomas blinked, looking at Eliza as he moved the phone speaker away, mouthing what Alex had just told him to her and her eyes widened a bit but she wasn't overly shocked. Suddenly, he got the brilliant idea of putting the phone on speaker so she could hear him.

“Well, I saw him while I was visiting John's grave and- okay, look, the tombstone looks like shit, Thomas. ‘Jesus called Aug. 27th 2015’? John wasn't even religious! He was an atheist!” 

“Jesus, that’s morbid, even for a Christian gravestone. That- that’s fucked up, man. That shouldn’t even be on a grave. That, that’s just dark.” He pouted, sipping his coffee.

Eliza frowned a bit, “So, what did he say to make you punch him?”

“ ‘Liza! You're with Tom? How is he? Has he been eating and sleeping okay? Is his hair in braids-”

“Yes, yes it’s in braids. My hair is in braids right now. I am in your apartment and I have braids in my hair.” Thomas cut him off, chuckling as he looked at Eliza. “You’re marrying the best cook ever, by the way, I don’t think my cooking can compare to hers. Lucky man.”

A small chuckle left the phone, “Braids, damn. I love it with you braid your hair and yes, we all know how great of a cook Eliza is.” There was a pause. “And, ‘Liza, you have to understand that Henry Laurens is a very-”

“Alex.” She interrupted.

“Okay, okay.” He sighed audibly. “We were standing there, paying our respects and he told me not to come around anymore that John wouldn't want my faggot self tainting his grave. So, I punched him. I'm pretty sure that John would approve.” 

Thomas snorted, stifling a laugh. “God, you’re amazing!” He smiled, looking at the phone as if it were Alex instead of a phone.

Eliza chuckled softly, “So, did you meet her? His daughter?”

There was a very long, uncomfortable silence and the sound of Alex shifting, “Yes, yes I did. I talked to her and her mother. Her mother is actually pretty sick. I don't… I don't think she’ll make it through the year.” He shifted again. “We talked about John a lot. I gave her some stories, she gave me some of him before he joined the war. It was… nice. She um, she asked me if I would take Frances when she... you know. And I said yes?”

“You said yes? You’re planning on adopting his kid when her mom passes?” Thomas asked, trying to make sure he heard the details correctly. He glanced at Eliza, his heart sinking in jealousy. “At least your baby will have an older sister.” He whispered.

Eliza was pressing her lips together tightly and she glanced at Thomas before looking back at the phone, “Alexander, did you only say yes because she's John's? You know that taking her in won't bring him back right? I think you got yourself into something without thinking about the repercussions.” She said softly. “This child needs a supportive family, can you honestly tell me that you won't push her away when she starts looking like John?”

The answer was instantaneous.

“Of course I won't, Elizabeth. I wouldn't do that to her and I did think it over the entire two weeks that I've been here. I played with her, talked to her, and I think this would be the best thing for me to do. John always regretted not being able to spend more time with Frances and now- I can take her in for him. I can give her a good life for him. This is why I survived and he didn't.”

“Will you be notified when you need to return to South Carolina to pick Frances up?” Thomas asked, peering into his coffee cup. 

“Yes but um, the adoption agency that we talked to about this, they said I need a character reference. I put your phone number, Tom. Is that okay?”

“Absolutely, I think that’s perfectly fine.” He smiled softly. “So, I’d need to look out for a call from the adoption agency, then?” He asked

“Yeah, you will.” He said softly.

Eliza frowned, “I just think this a little soon. I'm not trying to be a buzz kill but Alex, are you sure you're ready for this kind of commitment? Frances isn't like a pet-”

“Eliza, I'm sure. I know this is happening really soon but I want to do this.”

“I’m with Alex on this one, Eliza.” Thomas admitted, drinking his coffee to avoid answering any of her questions about it.

Eliza sighed softly and she bit down on her lower lip, “Okay, I trust you two to know what you’re doing. We can even invite them to the wedding too.” She mused.

“That actually sounds great.” Thomas smiled, looking over the guest list. “Oh, Alex, you called us in the middle of us arranging the guest list and seating arrangements.” He couldn’t help the smile filling his face. He didn’t know that he’d find himself this excited about talking to him.

“Oh, really? I only have one hard point: No Burr!” He laughed loudly.

 

* * *

 

 

A week later, Thomas was helping Alex unpack his suitcase, a giddy feeling filling him as he kept looking over at Alex, squeezing the clothes he had in hand as he put them away. He didn’t even know what to say to him, he could only think about how much he missed him and how much he wanted to catch up. With a lot of things.

“So, I have a measuring thing with Herc this week?” Alex brought up curiously as he set a picture of a small girl with honey kissed skin and blonde hair up on his dresser.

“Yep, in four days.” He nodded, peering at the photo. “Is this Frances?” He asked, smiling softly. “She’s pretty.”

“Yeah, that's her. You see those freckles? She gets them from her dad.” He smirked happily.

He chuckled, taking the picture in his hands happily. “What else does she get from her dad?” He asked, looking at him sweetly. 

Alex leaned against him and pointed out her hair, “Those blonde locks are all courtesy of John. She looks like her mother otherwise.” He whispered.

“Do you like blondes or something?” He joked, poking his cheek as he set the picture down. “But in all honesty, she’s really pretty.” He hugged Alex close, kissing his forehead. “I missed you so much.” He admitted.

“I missed you too, Thomas.” Alex rested his head on him and he sighed softly. “I was thinking, maybe you would help raise Frances with me? Eliza will have her hands full with the baby and I'm pretty sure, Maria is going to be like the baby’s other mom and they won't need me much. I mean, I'll be there for the baby but yeah.”

“Alex.” Thomas cupped his cheeks, looking into his eyes. “You do realize that the second you let me help you with Frances, she’s going to be spoiled rotten, right?” He hugged him tightly, a huge grin on his face. “I’d love to help you raise Frances.” He smiled down at him, stroking his hair happily. “Honestly, I’ve always wanted to have kids.”

“She’ll be like our very own kid, along with John and Martha’s, of course. We’re not about to erase her other parents.” He whispered softly. “And maybe she needs to be spoiled.”

“I’ll spoil her so much, she wouldn’t know what hit her.” He whispered, kissing him lovingly. “And, well, of course we won’t leave John and Martha out of her life. I’ll make sure she has plenty of pictures of them. She needs to remember her parents, of course.” He caressed his cheek, a fluttery feeling filling his chest.

“You don't think it's too soon in our relationship to be thinking about raising a kid together?” Alex asked with a small frown. “I can't think of anyone who would think about that just one month into a relationship. If this is too much for y-”

“No, no it’s perfect.” He took his hand, squeezing it tightly. “It’s not too much for me at all! I mean, I spent my entire life living in a big family and I’ve always felt like that’s something I want so desperately and honestly you doing this is going to make things so much easier because if it wasn’t like this then I don’t know if we could ever get such a big chance like this in quite some time!” He paused, embarrassment heating up his face. “Sorry, I um, I rambled on for quite a bit.” He cleared his throat. “I um, I never really got a lot of attention growing up, so I always thought that if I was able to have a family of my own, I’d be able to give the kids more attention than I got. Y’know?” He looked at him quietly.

“Yeah, I know.” Alex smiled as he cupped his face gently. “Maybe it isn't so weird. I mean, there are some people who get married after only knowing each other for three months. Why should our relationship be any different?”

He nodded, kissing him sweetly as he hugged him close. “We’re gonna have a kid together, Alex.” He whispered, smiling happily at him. “Holy shit, we’re going to have a kid together!” He chuckled, the words filling him with more joy than anything he could ever say. “I- is it strange that this feels so natural to me? Just saying that we’re going to have children together?” He asked, cupping his cheeks in return as he stared into Alex’s eyes, dipping into their pools almost immediately as he pressed their foreheads together. 

“Of course it isn't strange. It's just right.” He whispered softly with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that happened.
> 
> I feel the need to state this:
> 
> Frances will not be the cure to Alex's PTSD, she will help him move on from John's death though, so that's cool
> 
> Also:
> 
> I think we can all agree that raising a kid together with a man you've only known for a month is too soon but Alex and Thomas are mature enough to handle it so chill


	6. Chapter 6

“Fucking idiots not knowing how to parallel park in a downtown area.” Thomas grumbled to himself, trying his best to park his car right in front of Mulligan’s Tailoring. “Jesus Christ, why is everyone such a shitty driver?” He finally got the car parked, huffing as he glared at the steering wheel. “Anyways, we’re here.” He looked at Alex, smiling shyly. “Shall we?” He asked, clearly pretending that he didn’t just decide to get pissed over parallel parking, the hardest kind of parking there is. Fuck parallel parking, man. Just- just fuck parallel parking.

Alex was staring at the store with a strange, unreadable look on his face and Thomas frowned at him, “Alex?” He asked softly as he reached over and put his hand on his knee and he squeezed it. The Latino jolted in shock and his eyes snapped to him before he visibly relaxed.

“Uh, yeah, sorry. I kind of zoned out.” He laughed shortly as he exited the car.

“So, what we’ll be doing is discussing tuxedo plans, he’s going to measure you, and I’ll make sure that the bill isn’t too high for the wedding budget.” Thomas hummed, locking the car as he joined Alex into the store. The bell jingling was the sweetest noise that he could hear as he glanced around the room at clothes pre-made and at a basket of knitted stuffed animals that was sitting on the counter for a dollar each.

And that was when he heard the soft curse from behind the counter and a rustling of clothes. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked over at the noises. “Um, hello?” He asked softly, stepping over slightly.

“Hold on just a second!” A baritone voice called, and soon, a large black man arose from the floor behind the counter. “Ah! Thomas. Hey.” His face was flushed and even with his adjustments, his clothes were still disheveled. He caught sight of Alex, and that flush on his face slipped away as he paled and a guarded look filled his eyes. “Alexander?”

Thomas glanced at Alex, confused, “You know Herc?” 

Alex was leaning against the counter and messing with a stuffed turtle absentmindedly, “Yeah, we were in the war together. He was a spy, so we didn't see each other a lot unless he was coming back with reports.”

“Yeah, it’s been awhile, man. Where’ve you been?” Hercules leaned against the counter, realization hitting him as he hit the counter. “Hey! I know someone who’d be really excited to see you again!”

“No.” He said sharply as he stood up and he glanced at Thomas before looking back at Hercules. “I don't- He probably wouldn't want to see me.”

“Awe, c’mon! You two were good friends!” He begged.   
  
Thomas looked between the two of them. “Okay, can one of you catch me up on what you two are talking about because I have no fucking clue what you’re both referring to.”

Alex sighed softly and frowned, “He's talking about Lafayette. Lafayette was a soldier during the war, one that John-” He winced a bit at saying his name. “And I took care of frequently.”

“Really?” Thomas asked, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah. He um, he’s actually here right now.” Herc mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “He was gonna go back to France, but he um, something came up and he decided to stay here in America.”

Alex tapped his fingers along the counter in slight agitation, “Like what? What came up?” 

Hercules was quiet for the longest time, very slowly pointing to the gold band on his left ring finger.

He snapped his fingers, “That's right, Thomas mentioned that he was going to be probably planning your wedding before next year is out. So, Gilbert, huh?”

“Yeah, we uh, we started hanging out when we got home from war and things just clicked.” He smiled softly, looking at the ring. “We’re planning for summer of next year. And Thomas, there’s no probably about it.” He joked.

Thomas smiled widely. “Well, congratulations to the both of you.” He nodded, looking at Alex sweetly.

Alex, however, had a troubled look on his face and he shifted a bit, “How do you… how do you both handle the PTSD?” He asked quietly.

“Oh! We actually got two service dogs. Gil, he um, he has terrible nightmares, so the dogs have gotten used to sleeping in our bed.” He nodded gently. “And he’s in physical therapy for his leg still, as for me, well-” He held up the basket of knitted animals. “I busy myself to calm down. It’s helpful.”

“Huh, a service dog.” He murmured quietly. “I mainly write and write and write. It helps a little but I still have nightmares and I- I attacked Thomas for leaning over me while I was sleeping.”

“Oh shit.” He whispered. “Yeah, Gil’s done that to me a few times, but he freaks out when he realizes what happened.” He looked at them gently. “Alex, I honestly think a service dog might help you, too. You don’t have to get one, but honestly, they’re so nice.”

“I couldn't possibly. I have a baby on the way and then a toddler that's going to be in my care before the year is out and- I probably wouldn't be a good owner. I would probably forget to do something.” He sighed as he sat the turtle plush down for a moment but he picked it right back up.

“Well, honestly, it’s just like taking care of any other dog. Making sure there’s fresh water and plenty of food, walking, playing and petting, brushing occasionally. Thomas can help you out.” He watched Alex. “You can buy that if you want.”   
  
Thomas gently took Alex’s arm, pressing his cheek against the latino’s head as he looked down at the turtle. “Do you want it?” He asked softly, rubbing his back with his free hand as he took in that sweet orange scent of his once again. “I can buy it for you and you can keep it with you while you get your measurements taken.” He offered.

“I probably shouldn't… John really liked drawing turtles, it just reminds me of-”

A dark skinned man walked down the circular staircase with a tired look in his brown eyes but the moment his gaze landed on the both of them, he brightened up, “Alexander!” He called merrily as he rushed down the remaining steps with a wince, probably because of the leg issue that Herc had mentioned.

“Lafayette.” Alex called back fondly. “Life outside of the war agrees with you and what's this that I hear about a wedding?”

Lafayette waved him off and turned to Herc with a frown, “You did not tell me that Alexander was coming.” He murmured unhappily.

“I told you I had a client coming today, but I didn’t know it was going to be Alexander.” Herc hugged him from behind, nuzzling him gently. “From the details of what Thomas said, it’s for a wedding.” He looked at Alex, raising an eyebrow. 

“A wedding? You did not think to invite us?” A hurt look crossed over Lafayette’s face.

“Laf, it's just- you guys bring back bad memories about the war, I'm sorry.” He tried.

“PTSD.” Herc explained, hugging Lafayette tightly. “Y’know how it is.”

“Ah, yes, we have some experience with that. Hercules, did you tell him about Hugh and Georges?” Lafayette turned back to Herc expectantly.

“Yeah, I mentioned them.” He smiled. “Are they still upstairs?” He asked.  _ God they’re such a nice couple,  _ Thomas thought as he surveyed them both and the way they just fit together.

“Yeah, I gave them some fresh water and that food that they really like.” Lafayette smiled but he turned back to Alex with a frown. “I can go back upstairs if my presence is too difficult for you.”

Alex’s eyes widened in shock, “What- no! It's okay, it's nice to see you- the both of you.”

“Well, anyways, I’ve gotta start measuring him for his tuxedo.” Herc smiled, kissing his fiancé and Lafayette leaned into it eagerly. “I’ll be back.” He promised, pulling away. “Alexander, if you’ll follow me.” He offered his hand to him and Alex chuckled as he followed after him without taking his hand.

Lafayette finally turned to him and he watched him warily, “So, you and Alex, huh? Even though he is getting married?”

“Heh, yeah.” Thomas nodded, looking at him as he rubbed the back of his neck. “He’s only getting married to help out Eliza.” He looked him over, surveying him with a small smile. “So, you and Herc are getting married?” He asked.

The Frenchman waved him off, “You knew of this. Hercules told me that you were the first that he told.” He raised a brow at him. “So, are you serious about Alexander?”

“Yeah.” He leaned against the counter, humming softly. “I mean, we’ve been together for a month technically, and he’s getting married this October.” He rubbed at one of his hands, a small pout on his face. “Is it bad that I’m jealous of him getting married?”

“Jealous? Is it because it is not you that he is marrying?”

“I- yes.” He laid his head on the counter. “Yes, it’s because I’m not marrying him.”

“Oh but is he not still yours? He shares a bed with you and he loves you. Marriage is only a piece of paper, it is the love that makes the marriage.”

“But it’s not the same.” He whined. “He’s going to be married, and he’s going to adopt a kid, two technically if you count Eliza’s baby, and he’s going to be either living with them or staying over with me. And sure, we’ll be together, but-” He sighed. “But I’ll never be able to call him Alexander Jefferson.” He laid there for the longest time, his heart sinking lower and lower into his chest. “And he’s not going to just leave Eliza pregnant like that because her parents would make her get an abortion, and it’ll be pretty late-term as it is. She really wants her baby, and-”

“I see… What about this Eliza, what does she think about this whole thing? Maybe if you were to talk to her, she would consider just disobeying her parents. She is a grown adult, no? She should be able to make her own decisions.” Lafayette frowned as he gently squeezed his hand.

“Her father is Philip Schuyler.” He squeezed Lafayette’s hand back, watching him.

“Ah, the senator.” He mused thoughtfully. “I still do not see why she couldn't just refuse them when they tell her to get an abortion.”

“I don’t see why, either, but from what has been happening, she’s dating this woman, Alex is dating me, and she’s going to have a baby that’s gonna end up having two moms and two dads.” He shrugged. “Besides, Alex said he was going to help her with the baby and that’s one of the main reasons he proposed.”

“Perhaps she's just afraid to get cut off from their money? Otherwise, I do not see why should agree to marry someone that she does not love.” He murmured.

“That might be it. She funds a private orphanage, and if she’s using the money for the orphanage, I can see why she wouldn’t want to get cut off.” He sighed, swallowing hard.

Lafayette hummed quietly in thought, “This woman that she's dating, what is she like? Why can she not sub in for Alexander?”

“‘Cause they met a month ago, Laf.” He frowned. “Besides, they met in a not-so-ideal way, so I’m pretty sure they’re still getting through the rough start into a relationship.”

“Well, they have until October to figure their relationship out. You need to remember, this situation is not hurting only you. You have this woman, Eliza, Alex, and you all affected by it.” He said softly.

“You’re right.” He nodded slowly. “Why are you so good at life advice, holy shit.”

“The French always are, non?” He teased.

“Thank you, Laf.” He smiled softly at him. “So um, Herc said you two were planning on having your wedding next summer?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, a nice summer wedding would be nice.” Lafayette smiled gently.

Alex came back out, turtle plush in hand, and he was frowning as he glanced back at Herc, “Well, my measurements are done.” 

“That’s good.” Thomas sat up, smiling at Alex gently. “Anyways, let’s get onto the tux design and color scheme, that way it goes along with the wedding.”

Alex nodded and he sat down on one of the stools, “I have no preference, so you can just pick one out for me. I trust that you make me look like a complete disaster.” He joked.

Thomas stuck out his tongue at him, pulling out his notepad as he showed it to Herc. “So, the theme colors are ivory, burnt orange, chocolate brown, and orange. I’ll need to talk to Eliza about what she wants the bridesmaids dresses to be, but if you can be the amazing tailor I know you are, I’d appreciate it.” He smiled.

Herc wrote down the colors, humming softly. “Can do, Thomas. Anything you wanna add?”   
  
“Um, yes, can you make sure the suit matches black dress shoes?” He smirked, looking over at Alex with raised eyebrows. He knew exactly where they’d go next.

Alex blanched visibly, “I thought we were only doing the tux today.”

“The shoes are included with the tux.” He smirked. “Herc, you have my number, make sure you update me on the order.” He slipped a dollar onto the counter as he took his notepad back. “We’re buying the turtle, thank you so much, have a good day!” He picked Alex up, carting him out even as Alex struggled. They had to get new shoes.

 

* * *

 

 

Alex was glaring at him after the fourth pair of dress shoes that he had had him try on, and Thomas couldn’t help the grin on his face.   
  
“Y’know, the more you glare at me, the more I want to fuck you.” He teased, picking out another pair. “How about these ones?” He showed them to him, matching the other pairs of dress shoes they’d just tried on. “These are shiny!”

Alex took a few deep breaths, “Well, Tamatoa, maybe you should get them.” He grumbled as he slipped the dress shoes on and walked around for him.

“Nah, they’re not poppy enough for me.” He crossed his legs, his own dress shoes were a shiny electric blue. He had chosen a blue suit today.

“Can we just decide on this pair? I'm eager to get home and see to that d-”

_ ‘All the single ladies _

_ All the single ladies  _

_ Put your hands up’ _

Alex flushed as he flipped his phone open, and as Thomas watched, with Béyonce ringtones and a flip phone, he was about to cringe himself to death. It was so cringey. Was this 2007? Did he go back in time? Why won’t Alex just get a Samsung Galaxy? They’re better than his shitty flip phone. Even a blackberry was a better upgrade!

“Uh, Martha? You're flying to Manhattan in a week? Yeah, I actually live in upper Manhattan, I can definitely take care of Frances that weekend.” A pause as Alex listened to the woman on the other line. “Yeah, I can see if she can stay at my boyfriend’s place, Eliza and I don't have a guest room at the moment.” Alex glanced at him questioningly.

Thomas nodded, smiling at him. “I have a guest bedroom, she can stay in there.” He offered, reaching for Alex’s hand. Alex immediately took his hand and he squeezed it gently.

“Yeah, he says that she can stay at his apartment. I'll be staying there too, so you don't have to worry about her being around a stranger. But what about you? What is this hospital observation about?” He frowned. “I see… You're going to be okay though? You have the funds to fly here? I can help pay-” He sighed softly. “Okay, okay. Well, tell Frances I said hi. It was nice talking to you Martha.” He hung up and looked at Thomas gently.

Thomas squeezed Alex’s hand slightly. “What’s going on? What’s the hospital observation?” He asked as he pulled Alex down to sit on his lap and he wrapped his arms around him once the Latino relaxed into him.

“She's seeking a second opinion on her undiagnosed disease. Apparently, nobody knows what it is and can only really prescribe her antibiotics.” He sighed. “Frances will be staying with us until after the observation.”

“I see.” He nodded gently, kissing his head. “Who has she been staying with, Alex?” He asked. “Are they going to do bloodwork on Martha?” He looked into his eyes, he didn’t really know Martha, but he was actually quite worried about her.

“They have a little apartment in South Carolina and yeah, they're doing a whole bunch of tests while she's there.” 

“Okay, that’s good.” He looked at him gently. “Put your shoes back on, we’ll get these shoes.” He whispered, holding up the shiny dress shoe with a smirk.

Alex rolled his eyes as he got off of his lap and he slid his shoes back on easily, “We should probably get like a night light or something for her? I don't know, maybe some juice boxes and kid stuff?”

“Absolutely.” He nodded. “I can rent a few kids movies and get some snacks.” He got an idea. “And maybe we can have some mac-”

“No.” He said sharply. “The past few dates we've had has only had macaroni involved with them. I'm actually half convinced that you'd get aroused just from me sitting in a bath of macaroni.”

Thomas immediately found the picture in his head, with Alex sitting in the bathtub without anything on, sitting in nothing but macaroni. Suddenly, his pants were very tight.

Alex stared him down, “On that note, I'm going to leave the store. Pay for the shoes with my card. I'm gone. Goodbye.” Thomas watched as he actually left the store.  _ Damn. _


	7. Chapter 7

It had been a week since that phone call and Thomas had spent it researching with Alex about service dogs for PTSD. After having that talk with Hercules and Lafayette about it, it only seemed like it could be a positive addition to their already growing family.

“Wow,” He whispered, his eyes flitting over the laptop screen quickly as he read and reread the information displayed. “There are a lot of benefits for having a service dog.” He looked at Alex, raising an eyebrow as he took his hand, giving it a small squeeze. “I think I’m going to have to agree with Gil and Herc when I say that you really should get a service dog. Plus, it’ll really help the kids with responsibility.” He pulled his hand over, kissing it sweetly.

“Yeah, it would.” Alex mused as he his eyes slid over to his own. “But we don't really know the first thing about service dogs. The children would also have to learn not to distract it when it's on duty and a lot of things.”

“Alex, why do you think we’re researching on service dogs?” He pulled him close, kissing the latino’s forehead as he smirked. “I’ll make sure to help the children understand what to do around service dogs.” He promised.

“If you insist… It would be pretty nice to have something to help me through my PTSD.” He murmured as he played with the turtle plush that he had bought for him a week ago. Actually, now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen Alex without it once.

“You really like that turtle plush, huh?” He asked, stroking his hair gently. Looking back, he could’ve sworn he’d seen it at least two or three times in their bed.

“Yeah, it just reminds me of John sometimes.” He explained.

Thomas decided to just leave it there, even if it felt like that turtle plush was watching his every move whenever he bedded Alex.

 

* * *

 

 

Thomas was sitting in one of the hard chairs close to the baggage claim in the airport, crossing one leg over the other as he watched Alex walking back and forth. The man was restless, he could tell. “Alex?” He asked, raising an eyebrow curiously. “Are you okay, you’re pacing a lot more than you were twenty minutes ago.”

“We’ve sent those invitations to Hercules and Lafayette and they RVSP’ed,” Alex started as his eyes flitted over every single person in the airport before finally resting on him. “So, we basically have everything done and ready for the wedding in October?”

“Mhm. Hercules is making your tuxedo, the dress designer has planned to measure Eliza a week before the wedding to alter the dress if it’s needed, the florist, caterer, venue, seating, all that - it’s all taken care of.” Thomas wrapped his arms around Alex, kissing his forehead softly. “It’ll be okay, it’s all set. You can relax.”

“Right, right… And we have plenty of sippy cups and juice boxes? Fruit snacks? Toys? I didn't even ask if Frances is potty trained, fuck- do we have diapers?!” He ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up even more than it already had been.

“Alexander, it’s okay.” Thomas cupped his cheeks gently. “If she’s not potty trained, we can take her to the store and get her diapers. It’s fine.” He promised. 

“What if she's allergic to the diapers we pick out? What if she doesn't like the food we got her? Oh god-”

“Alexander, it’s fine. We can get new diapers if she’s allergic to the ones we get, we can take her to get food she does like if we need to.” He chuckled, kissing Alex’s face. The poor guy looked terrified. “It’ll be okay. Frances is going to enjoy living with us.”

“For the weekend and then she and her mom will be back in South Carolina.” Alex leaned heavily into Thomas and he sighed. “Do you think she’ll like her room?”

“Mhm. I made sure to get her pretty bedsheets, I got a plastic bedsheet on the mattress just in case, and I also made sure to put toys in a small chest for her and she’s got a pretty night light.” He stroked his hair gently, kissing his head. “There’s also books for her.”

“Everything is taken care of?” He asked as he finally relaxed.

“Everything is taken care of.” He promised, smiling at him. “Where do you think Frances and Martha are?” He asked, looking around the area curiously. “Do you think we should go up to the second floor to wait for them right outside the gate? There’s an escalator leading up to it.”

“Well, my dear Jefferson, I haven't the slightest clue about airports. I rode a train to South Carolina and I came over to the States via boat. And military air bases look a lot more different than this.”

“You are- oh holy shit you are serious.” Thomas pressed a hand to his head, he couldn’t fucking believe that Alexander Hamilton hadn’t been in an airport before, it was astounding. “C’mon, get up, I’ll lead the way.” He pushed Alex off of him.

He landed on the floor but he was quick to get back up as if nothing had happened, “So, explain what's on this second floor. And why the fuck is there a second floor?” He frowned.

“Oh sweet Jesus- okay, so the second floor holds the security check.” He stood up, taking his hand before dragging him towards the escalators. “By the way, step on a step and stand still, this is pure magic. Anyways!” He stepped on an escalator and made sure Alex was following him as they were raised up. “There’s security check and then you’re led to escalators to a THIRD FLOOR-”

“There's a fucking third floor?!” Alex interrupted loudly.

Thomas watched him for the longest time. “In this airport, there is. It’s an international airport. Anyways, how amazing is that?! Then there’s food courts like restaurants and stuff, and there’s a subway train that’ll take you to each gate. They’ll say things like “Gate A, as in Apple, Gate B as in Bravo, Gate C as in Concord, you get the idea.” He rolled his wrist in a way to show that it wasn’t really much. 

After reaching the second floor and stepping off the escalator, Thomas continued. “Then you get to the ‘gates’, which are seating areas that are numbered. Like, A36, A37, and they’re in sectors of I think either fives or tens. Last I remember, they had smoking rooms and got rid of them.” He shrugged. “But honestly, you have to have a second and third floor because otherwise you’d have to walk outside and go up steps to board a plane. Oh, and when you board a plane, there’s this door on the side of the building that takes you through this tube that doesn’t fully cover the door to the airplane, so there’s this small crack where you can see about… ten maybe fifteen feet to the ground.” He nodded. “I used to fly to New York from Virginia and back again a lot.”

Alex blinked slowly at this influx of information, “I still don't understand the logistics but alright. How will we know when their plane gets here?”

“Oh, downstairs over the seats there’s tv screens that show us when flights are delayed, on time, or arriving.” He smirked.

“Are you telling me that we’re going to have to go all the way back down there?” He asked, exasperated.

“Hey, we rode up magical moving stairs to get up here.” He looked over to the side to see two strips of treadmill-like walkways. “Oh, there’s also the moving sidewalks.” He pointed. “And that’s the parking garage. You missed me going through the parking garage because you were so excited to just get into the airport.” He chuckled.

Alex paused as his gaze drifted all over the second floor, confusion painting his face and he turned back to Thomas, “This is pretty overwhelming and a lot to take in.” he admitted.

“I know, but hey, there’s a perk to it.” He pointed to the moving sidewalks. “Walking quickly on those and playing A Thousand Miles.” He smirked, clearly joking as he watched the disgust on the latino’s face sink in.

“I have to go.” Alex turned away from him and headed down the up escalator.  _ Oh no, this isn’t good. _

“Alex, wrong one!” Thomas ran to him, taking his hands before leading him to the escalator right next to it. “This is the one leading down.” He whispered, stepping onto it as he led Alex. He was trying to keep his calm, he absolutely hated the down escalators, but he couldn’t help squeezing Alex’s hands tightly. Alex was not any better off from the looks of it, he gripped the siding and he kept peering over the edge anxiously.

“Well, um…” Thomas whispered, the floor was quite a ways away but slowly growing closer. “Yeah getting off of this thing is probably worse than knowing you’re going down it.”

“Aren't there stairs?” Alex groaned as he shifted past a person in front of them and started walking down the escalator.

“I’ve only been in one airport that had actual stairs, and I doubt if we looked around there’d be any.” He admitted, quickly following behind. “Jesus, you never think how scary going downstairs is until you go down a fucking escalator.” He whispered, squeezing Alex’s hand tighter. 

Alex merely nodded his head in agreement and he sighed once they reached the bottom, “Where are those TVs you spoke of? We should be looking for the South Carolina one, right?”

“Yes.” He nodded, pointing to the seats they had been sitting in. “Look up and you’ll see the screens, there’s six of them over the seats.” He whispered, hugging him tightly, which Alex returned immediately. “I um… oh God this is going to be embarrassing.”

“What is? What's wrong?” Alex’s gaze flew from the TVs to gaze up at him, confused and Thomas rubbed the back of his neck shyly.

“Well, um, you remember when you had to help me find my glasses? Well, heh, earlier today when we stopped at that gas station I… might’ve lost a contact and threw the other one away because I didn’t wanna be dizzy the entire drive here.” He looked away, his cheeks flushed darkly.

“I don't understand how that's embarrassing but okay then.” Alex reached into his pocket and he pulled on a pair of red rimmed reading glasses.

“Alex- wait, you have glasses?!” He had never seen lick nor hair of any glasses, not during the month they had been together. Not at all. When did Alex get glasses? Where did they come from? Since when did Alex need glasses to see?

“Yes, I do. You're just now noticing?” Alex asked, seemingly even more confused than he had been before.

“Yes, because you never wear them.” He frowned and pointed to the screens that were pooled together again. “Here, boy, what do you see?” He asked. “Please, let me know, when is the flight coming in?” He whispered. “Is it delayed? On time? It should be the one in this airport’s gate region from South Carolina to New York.”

“It says…” Alex was squinting at the tiny words and he stepped closer to one of the TVs for a moment before finally turning around. “They're arriving in a hour.”

“An hour?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. That’s a lot more time than he had thought they had. “Huh. Do you wanna go to the car and sit in there for a bit?” He asked, unsure of what else to do as he twiddled his thumbs.

“Or, we could go eat at one of those restaurants you were talking about being in here. I'll pay.” He smirked as he got his wallet out and he flicked through the bills there. “I have more than enough for our lunch.”

“Sure.” He smiled, taking his hand, leading him through the airport. It was a maze. “Luckily, there’s always a few stores and restaurants right outside the security.” He told him, and that was when:

“Holy fucking shit there’s actual stairs!” Thomas looked at Alex, the set of stairs was right next to two escalators. How they had missed them, he wasn’t too sure. Oh well, he hugged him tightly suddenly. “Look at this, things are turning up.” He whispered, stroking his hair.

“Fuck yeah, stairs. I know stairs.” A huge smile spread over his face and he robbed Thomas of his hand and he dragged him across the airport and to the stairs. For a man with short legs, he certainly made his way up the stairs quickly.

“Alex, holy shit!” Thomas couldn’t help but start laughing, following Alex as fast as he could. “Jesus, shorty, why are you so fast?!” The smile on his face was the most genuine he’d have in so long.

“Obviously, I'm the Tasmanian Devil.” Alex smirked as he looked back at him over his shoulder and soon, they were on the third floor.

“Well, let’s see, if you’re the Tasmanian Devil, then I’m Roadrunner.” He kissed him deeply, looking around. “I see a McDonalds. And a Wendy’s. Arby’s…” He looked at him gently, caressing his cheek. “Which one do you wanna go to?” He asked, showing him the several magazine shops and small in-airport restaurants around. They all really looked like the Walmart restaurants or mall food courts.

“Wendy’s has the best chili, let me tell you.” He gazed up at him and his eyes were glittering with passion. “Did you know that the very first restaurant that I went to once I arrived from the Caribbean was Wendy's? It's like tasting heaven, not that I believe in heaven.”

“I actually didn’t know that.” He chuckled. “Did you know that my mom went into labor with me in a Popeye’s restaurant?” He raised an eyebrow.

“She what? They actually have really good potatoes. They taste spicy.” 

“About those potatoes.” He smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“No way, she went into labor while eating the potatoes?!” He led him into the Wendy's and he smiled at the cashier. “A large cup of chili and fries, what do you want Thomas?”

“I want the biggest cheeseburger they have. And fries. Drinks, too.” Thomas hummed. “But yes, my mom did.” He whispered.

“Alright. Ma’am, could you put that down- uh, Thomas, plain or everything on it?” He glanced back at him

“Everything. I have to have everything on it.” He whispered, smiling happily.

“Alright.” He kissed him gently and then paid the cashier.

Thomas smiled happily at Alex, taking their receipt as he led him to a table, humming happily.

 

* * *

 

 

An hour later, they were waiting back near baggage claim, Thomas was still sipping on his large drink that he insisted on refilling before they left Wendy’s. “So, their plane should be landing about now.” He hummed, holding Alex in his arms happily and he kissed his forehead as the Latino relaxed. “Y’know, if we hadn’t messed around with our food and kept cracking jokes and throwing fries at each other, we could’ve also done a quickie in the bathroom.” He mused.

“Oh, yeah? Well, I had a nice time anyways.” Alex shrugged as he rested his hands over where his arms were wrapped around him. He took this opportunity to move and take the smaller man’s hand tightly and Alex squeezed it tightly. “Do you see them?”

“I don’t know, I can’t see more than a foot in front of me.” He shrugged, looking at Alex gently. He was still blind, and he was making a big deal about it. A blur of yellow raced toward them, followed closely by a blur of purple but that blur was mostly due to his eye sight. “I do see a yellow blur running to-”

A little girl tackled them both with a war cry. Alex leaned against Thomas too much to brace himself and the three of them went sprawling on the airport floor. Thomas held his drink up, and when he landed, he made sure not a single drop fell on the ground. He had his priorities set.

“Frances!” The purple blur chastised as she walked up to the three of them.

The little girl, Frances, giggled and stood back up, “Hi.” She whispered before running back presumptively to her mother, Martha.

“Alex, I know you love being on me, but please get off.” Thomas rasped out. “Your elbow is painfully impaling my stomach.”

Alex grunted as he rolled off of him and he sat up and looked at him and then at Frances, “Hey! You sure surprised us!” He teased.

Frances had a yellow dress on and her honey curls were down to her shoulders. Thomas couldn’t help the small smile on his face. And then she opened her mouth: “That's because you guys are old.”

Alex looked at her, affronted, “I'm only twenty four.”

“And I’m twenty seven!” Thomas argued, sticking his tongue out at her.

“Well, I'm four!” She smiled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Well- I have Dr. Pepper. Ha!” Thomas drank his drink, smirking.

Alex looked at him, disbelief evident on his face and he stole the cup and sipped it, “Not anymore.”

“Hey! Get your own!” Thomas pouted, snatching the cup back before standing up and holding it above his head. “Mine!” Alex put his hand on his shoulder and started climbing him. “Ah, what the fuck?!”

“Children.” Martha, a woman with dark curls and a sickly complexion called with a frown.

Thomas nodded at Martha, blowing in Alex’s face suddenly, making the Latino wrinkle his nose at him. “Hi, you must be Martha, I’m Thomas.” He reached around his boyfriend, offering to shake her hand.

“Ah, the boyfriend,” She smirked as she shook his hand. “And I see that you've met Frances.”

Frances stuck her tongue out at him, “I like your cane.” 

“Thanks, I spent $200 on it.” Thomas smiled, headbutting Alex. “Alex, buddy, get off me, I gotta kneel down and get face-to-face with Frances.”

Alex grumbled as he conceded and got off of him and Frances looked up at him expectantly.

Thomas kneeled down, looking Frances right in the eyes. “Do you like honey graham bears?” He asked.

She nodded shyly as she held her red book bag close.

“Good, I made sure to get you some.” He ruffled her hair gently, getting up with a smile. “Anyways, why don’t you three stay here and catch up, I’ll pull the car around.” He smiled, giving Alex his Dr Pepper. “If there isn’t at least half left by the time I get back, I’m not stopping the car.” He whispered threateningly, kissing his nose sweetly as he left.

 

* * *

 

 

The second Alex stepped into the car, he reached for his cup and he was surprised by how heavy it was. “Holy- did you refill my cup or something?” He asked, looking at him gently, a warm feeling was settling in his stomach and he smiled at Alex.

“Yeah, I drank it all, so I went and got you a refill.” He leaned over and kissed him gently as Martha and Frances got in. “We should head to the hospital first. Martha has that thing.” He murmured.

“Alright.” He whispered, kissing him sweetly. “And, you’re granted one stop.” He nuzzled him happily. “Oh, that reminds me, like my new look.” He tapped the glasses he found in his glove box happily.

“New Thomas who dis?” He smirked wildly like he hadn't just thrown an old meme in his face. The bastard- oh, wait.

“Nerd.” He drank his drink as he winked, looking in the back. “Everyone buckled in?” He asked, looking over at Frances and Martha.

Martha nodded, “Yes, we’re ready.”

“Great! Alex? You’re buckled in, right?” Thomas asked, starting to pull away from their parked stance.

“Yeah, let's get going.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter who dis


	8. Chapter 8

“It's so hot outside, Thomas. I think I might actually melt and then where will be? Well, I can tell you. We’ll be without one great, incredible mind and who’s fault would that be?” Alex paused as he contorted his body at an odd angle in front of the fan before continuing. “Why, it would be your jerk of a landlord’s fault for putting us through such hell.” Alex whined as he laid in front of two of the fans that were turned onto the highest power setting available. His green shirt was sticking to his sweat ladened skin but some of it had ridden up to expose the slight abdominal muscles that the other had but they weren't anything really special. Unlike this creature that had never seen a gym before, he actually had the whole muscle package with a decent six pack formed on his chest and fairly well developed biceps. This was actually something that he was pretty proud of and he was sure that he could bench press Alex in his sleep without even breaking a sweat.

Frances was sitting by the fan too, her blonde curls were sticking to her forward and her cheeks were highlighted a bit red. She was humming contently as she ate her teddy honey graham crackers that he had just set her up with and she patted Alex’s sweaty mop of hair with a giggle, “Mama sets up a sprinkler for us to play in sometimes when it gets really hot.”

“I want a sprinkler.” Alex pouted and he looked up at him accusingly as if it were his fault that he hadn't thought in advance to buy a sprinkler because the weather decided to be bipolar and suddenly get ridiculously humid. “Why don't you have a sprinkler?”

Thomas touched Alex’s forehead and he swept some of his sweat away with a wet towel. He was nothing if not caring for his boyfriend and he repeated the same process for Frances. “Well, probably because I don’t have a lawn, and I didn’t know that it was going to be extremely hot today.” He rolled his eyes and he swept his fingers through his wet hair, playing with it gently. His own was hidden underneath a hat and for good reason. The humidity had made it so that hair was out of control and fluffed up, he couldn’t let them see his terrifying hair problem. Nobody can see it. “Although, if I can fill the bathtub with cold water and ice cubes, then you can cool off in there.” He offered.

“But then it'll be too cold.” Alex complained as he rolled to the other sets of fans- yes, the Latino that was born and raised in the Caribbean had set up a total of five fans. He feared for the electricity bill. However, the main thing on his mind was that same man’s incessant bitching about ‘too hot’ and ‘too cold’. He stood up, walking into the kitchen before opening the freezer, taking two ice cubes in his hand. Returning, he did the most mature thing and slid the hand under Alex’s shirt, pressing the ice cubes right against his side.

What came next could only be expected, Alex shrieked loudly and flailed until the ice cubes were dislodged from his shirt and he ended up knocking two fans over in the process. Frances watched this all transpire, unperturbed. Thomas, however, felt as though his sides were going to split with how hard he was laughing, his chest heaving with each bellowing laugh. He laid on his back, his eyes shut as he tried to calm down, the scene replaying in his mind causing his laughter to bubble back up again. It was infectious.

“What are you laughing at, wise guy?” Came Alex’s voice, followed by the cool feel of ice cubes being shoved down his own shirt. Karma is a bitch.

“Ah, fuck!” He screamed, yanking his shirt off quickly in his haste to rid the cold solids from his skin. In the process, he knocked his hat off and his hair immediately puffed up. He panicked, scrambling for his hat as he tried his best to pat down his hair. He didn't want it to be seen by Alex. That would mean death. And yes, Thomas was going to be dramatic about it. Alas, Alex was guffawing at the sight and so was Frances. Betrayal. Utter betrayal. He grabbed his hat and stuffed his hair back into it, fitting it on as tightly as he could with a huff.

“Ho--ly shit!” Alex cried out as he gripped his trembling sides while he laughed. “That was beautiful- just, wow. Best hair ever. The award goes to you.” Thomas frowned, getting up before walking to the front door.

“Goodbye. Peace out. Enjoy my apartment. I’m leaving. Farewell, Frances, take good care of Alex for me!” He called, opening the front door as he started to leave them there.

“Wait- shit, Thomas!” Alex called out but he really only looked down when there was a small tug on his shorts. It was Frances and she was frowning up at him.

“Why are you leaving us?” She asked quietly and she looked so put out and stricken. “I thought we were gonna have ice cream tonight. All three of us.”

He picked her up, holding her close as he stroked her hair gently, his heart was breaking at the sight of this girl. “We still are, I promise.” He whispered, kissing her forehead. “Go get Alex, tell him to come with us and to bring me my shirt.” She nodded and he put her down gently.

She quickly ran to Alex, “WE’RE GOING TO GET ICE CREAM!” She shouted at the top of her lungs.

Alex, despite being an asshole that morning, had a bewildered look that melted away into a beautiful smile that made even the fluffiest and smallest of any adorable animal look simply average compared to him. His heart jumped in his chest as a fluttering filled his chest and stomach. He let out a small noise, watching them for a moment.

“Well, we better get going before he changes his mind, huh?” Alex teased as he grabbed the shirt that Thomas had abandoned on the floor and he picked her up, settling her on his side as he stalked over to him and he managed to put it on, over his body one handed. This was obviously a man that had a sweater made of husband material. 

“I won’t change my mind. In fact, I know exactly where to go for ice cream.” He hummed, kissing the Latino before turning off all of the fans, shoving them out of the apartment before locking the door. “And we’re ready!” He smiled, leading them to his car. “The best thing is that my car is parked in the shade and has a working AC. Very effectively working AC.”

Alex glanced at Frances for a moment and he settled her into her car seat and buckled her up, shutting the car door before turning to him, “Working AC is my kink, okay, thanks.” He climbed into the passenger seat.

“You better be joking about that.” Thomas told him once he poked his head into the car, starting it before flipping the AC to immediate coldness. “So, now we go.” He shut his door and buckled up, driving off.

 

* * *

 

 

Thomas had ordered cookie dough while Alex had two scoops of mint chocolate chip and Frances had ordered rocky road. Clearly, the ice creams. They had gone to Baskin Robbins because it wasn’t too far away and their ice cream is lit. That's with a capital ‘L’.

Alex sat down in a booth with his ice cream and he bit into it. Keyword: bit.  _ What the fuck. _

“What the actual fuck, ‘Lexi?” Thomas blurted, horror on his face. “Why? Who hurt you?”

“‘Lexi, are you okay?” Frances looked equally confused at Alex with chocolate all over her face. She had been eating in line. 

Alex had mint all over his face and he looked between the two of them confused, “What? What did I do?”

“ _ You don’t fucking bite ice cream. _ ” Thomas stressed, his eyes wide as he looked at Alex. He wasn’t sure if he should stay concerned or revoke the husband-material sweater he had given him earlier. “ _ What the literal fuck?! _ ” He was baffled.

Alex looked down at his ice cream, then at Frances’s, and finally at his own, his confusion only multiplying before he gave it an experimental lick.

Thomas licked his own ice cream, taking a bit of the cookie dough as he chewed on it. He was allowed for those bits. It’s fucking cookie dough, man. Then, Alex leaned over and he licked his fucking ice cream. Yeah, sweater revoked.

“Alexander Hamilton!” Thomas scoffed, pulling his ice cream away protectively. “Why?” First, it was his Dr. Pepper from the airport, now it’s his ice cream. What’s next, his dinner? His MACARONI AND CHEESE!?!

“I wanted to try it.” He pursed his lips and he offered him some of his own ice cream. He gets the sleeveless portion of the sweater back. It’s a sweater vest now. Thomas saw a bit that started dripping down, swooping down to lick it up, slowly going up the ice cream to the very top, swooping the tip of it. Maybe it was too sexual, but he didn’t mind.

Alex’s eyes darkened and he quickly looked away from Thomas with his lips pursed still, “So! Frances, can you read yet?” He asked a bit too loudly as he smiled.

“Yeah. Mama taught me.” Frances beamed with chocolate all over her cheeks, nose, and chin. She had finished her ice cream. 

“That’s wonderful. Do you know what reading level you might be?” Thomas asked, licking his own ice cream as he made sure to lick from cone to top in a spiral form. It was the best tactic. Sure, other tactics are good, but this makes sure all the slides don’t drip.

“Uh-uh.” She shook her head. “Mama probably does. Mama knows everything.”

Alex chuckled softly and he grabbed a few napkins and mopped up her face gently, “Well, we’ll just have to ask her tomorrow, huh?”

Thomas dove over, biting Alex’s ice cream. Sweet revenge. Well, okay, minty revenge, but still. He smirked as he licked his lips, watching the Latino as he returned to his own ice cream, which wasn’t at all starting to turn into a penis.

Alex turned to him and he pushed himself up against him really close, their noses were inches apart and he breathed, “What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I’ve been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda-”

Thomas, eight words in, burst out laughing, not being able to take him seriously. He believed him, but then again, this was a copypasta from 2012. He knew better. This was just hilarious to him. “Jesus Christ!” He almost fell out of the booth, laughing more as he gripped the table, eating his ice cream more as he tried to calm down.

Alex grinned as he pressed a quick kiss to his lips before diving back in to finish his ice cream before Thomas even had a chance to steal any more of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thief dared me to keep the copy pasta in, so I just shortened it and did it
> 
> If we can't meme in our own fanfic, where can we meme?


	9. Chapter 9

“Look at me! I am the King of New York!” Frances shouted as she stood on the arm of the leather couch in the living area of his apartment and Thomas watched with a small smirk as Alex scooped the little girl up easily, preventing her inevitable fall when she wobbled a bit too much.

“Frances Laurens; she is the King of New York!” Alex sang as he stood her on the wooden coffee table and he danced with her, moving his feet fluidly to the music that was playing on the television. He couldn’t really say that he had expected this of the Latino, he wasn't sure how he would be with children but every time he caught Alex with Frances, the way he was around her, it warmed his heart. At first, he had been worried that Alex’s feelings for her late father would get in the way of them taking care of her but he didn't worry about that anymore. It was obvious that Alex was more than capable of separating the two of them and it didn't interfere with his parenting skills at all.

He hummed as he flipped an egg on the stove and he glanced to the television. The two of them had decided to watch  _ ‘Newsies’  _ while he prepared their breakfast and he honestly could say that he was enjoying them bonding the only way one could through a musical about a bunch of boys going on strike. He smiled as Frances tapped her feet in an uncoordinated manner in their dance.  _ Adorable. _

“Hey, you two, once you’re done with your musical number, mind coming in here and sitting at the table? Breakfast is almost ready!” He called, smiling happily as he fixed their plates, humming to himself as he placed the plates on the table. “Would you two like anything to drink? You both need full stomachs before we go get Martha!” He called.

Frances hopped off of the table and she skipped happily into the kitchen, “Can I help, Tommy? I can pour milk all by myself!” She boasted as Alex followed in after her.

“Absolutely, but if you need help with any of it, you can ask me. The milk jug can be pretty heavy at times.” As he spoke, Alex wrapped his arms lazily around his midsection and he leaned into him with a smile.

Frances nodded and she pulled the fridge open and she used both of her arms to carry the milk to the table with a grunt.

Thomas got out her sippy cup and two glasses for him and Alex, moving them onto the floor so it was easier for her to pour them. And easier for him to clean up any spills. He watched as Frances unscrewed the jug of milk and she beamed up at him before she sloppily filled both glasses to the very top and filled her sippy cup.

Alex pouted as he sunk down on the ground on his stomach and he loudly slurped at his milk until it reached a point where it wouldn't spill if he picked it up. All the while, Frances was giggling loudly at him.

“What a fucking nerd.” Thomas snorted, moving down with a paper towel to clean up the slight spills that surrounded the three cups. He was careful to move his cup to his lips, chugging. He was chugging milk. Thomas Jefferson, he himself, was a fucking badass.

“You're the nerd who decided that it was a good idea to date me, so.” He shrugged and got back up and he put Frances and her sippy cup on top of two phone books.

“Oh, eat your eggs.” Thomas scoffed, trying his hardest to show malice, but it came out light, soft. He sat down next to Frances, eating his own breakfast happily.

 

* * *

 

 

When they got to the hospital, Thomas waited with Frances on his side as Alex talked quickly to the person heading the front desk and then the Latino was walking back to them with a frown, “Okay, we have to go to the sixth floor, so elevator it is.” He threaded his arm through his own and he walked with him to the elevator.

“Did they mention how she was doing?” Thomas ventured slowly as he studied the look that Alex was sporting. He looked nervous and he kept gnawing on his lower lip.

“Oh, huh? No, they wouldn't know how she's doing. We won't know until we get to the room.” Alex said off-handedly. Frances was half-asleep still from her afternoon nap and she made a small, disgruntled noise from them talking and he chuckled softly.

“Well, hopefully it’s not too bad. Martha’s a sweet woman and I wouldn’t want Frances to lose her.” He slowly took Alex’s hand with his own free one and he gave him a smile as he lifted the hand to his lips, pressing a small kiss to it. “Mind taking care of the elevator?” He asked softly and Alex rolled his eyes and hit the up button.

“Yeah, well, we’ll see how it goes.” He mused.

After the short elevator ride, they stepped into Martha’s hospital room and Thomas could see the distress she was in. Holding Frances closer to him, he felt as though his footsteps were echoing. “Martha?” He asked, sitting down next to her slowly as he took her hand, a memory flashing through his mind. A cold hand, a weak smile, a tight grip. “Martha? What’s wrong?” His throat was suddenly dry as he looked to Alex, who was frozen at the threshold of the hospital room.

“I got the results back today.” She began tenderly as she took Frances into her lap and Frances latched onto her right away. “The doctors found a mass in the lining of my esophagus.”

“A ma-” Thomas froze up, understanding almost immediately.  _ Cancer. _ “You’ll have to be put on chemotherapy for that.” He whispered, looking down into his lap as he squeezed her hand gently. “How bad is it?” He asked suddenly, looking into her eyes.

“Terminal. It's only a matter of time.” She said quietly as she played with one of Frances’s curls. Frances, for the most part, looked pretty confused. She probably didn't know what it all meant.

“Are you going to make sure to have a caregiver at home with you?” He shifted closer to her. “You can stay with us if you can’t be alone with Frances in South Carolina. I know Alex and I have enjoyed having her around, it’s honestly no problem. We can- I can pay for the equipment!” He begged, hearing the desperation in his voice. He felt disgusted in himself. He barely knew her and yet he was already trying to cling to her to help her live.

“That's alright, Thomas. I'd like to spend as much time as I can with Frances by myself before I need to begin relying on you two. I'll have a caregiver when I get weaker, maybe.” She let out a sigh. “Do you mind waiting outside while I talk to Frances?”

Thomas nodded, slowly getting up as he walked to the door, leading Alex away from the room. His legs felt like they were filled with lead as his heart was struck with an icy pain through his entire chest. That same weak smile coming across his mind again.

 

* * *

 

 

That night, Alex was laying in bed with him and he traced invisible patterns out on his skin with a sigh, “We both know that Martha isn't going to last the year but it doesn't make it hurt less. And how is Frances going to react to all of this? I don't think she really understood the ramifications of what Martha explained to her.” He sighed quietly as he finally looked up at him. “I remember that I was really messed up over my mother dying on me.”

Thomas nodding, hugging Alex close as he stroked his hair. “I can take care of helping her through her death.” He promised, kissing the Latino’s forehead. “I had to tell my five younger siblings about our father’s death, so I have some experience on it.” He admitted, this was the first time he brought up his family life. He immediately shut it out of his mind and the conversation. “It’s no big deal, though.”

Alex reached for his hand and he could see the worry in his face. “Thomas, are you sure? It sounds like a pretty big-” 

“I-” His fingers slipped into the Latino’s hand and he buried his face into his hair to avoid looking at the worry he had. He didn't want to be pity, especially not by his boyfriend. He swallowed hard, squeezing his hand rather tightly all of a sudden and he could feel the tenseness in his knuckles. “I can do it. It’s alright.” He rasped out, barely believing his own words. He wondered to himself if Alex believed him or not.

“Look, I can do it instead. You're obviously in no shape to do it. No buts.” Alex warned as he leveled him with a stubborn look. Thomas’s heart thudded loudly in his chest as he felt himself wishing to argue, tell him that he can do it, that he’s able to. He had to do it for five children before, a total of ten times when it came to bringing up his younger sister, but something tugged him away from arguing. He didn’t know if it was the fear of losing Alex, or a memory. A memory. His family.  _ Fuck, no, not now _ .

“Okay.” He shifted, burying his face into Alex’s neck suddenly as he hugged him tightly. He felt sickened at the thought of being this needy, he couldn’t help it though. He knew he was fine. He was fine. He was-

He was fucking crying into his boyfriend’s neck.  _ Goddammit _ . He tried to stop, but found he couldn’t. He couldn’t stop and that pained him more than the stinging of his eyes as his hot tears fell against the Latino’s neck.

“Thomas-” Alex held him close and he combed his hair out gently and much to his surprise, he started braiding his hair for him. He didn't even know that Alex could braid. “It's alright for it to still hurt. No one expects for you to be over it even if it happened years ago. I mean, you lost your father, that's pretty devastating but he’s not suffering now at least. That's a positive, right?” He asked softly. “When was the last time that you spoke to your siblings? Maybe they're hurting still too and you guys could get together to talk about it. I've read that talking about things that hurt help sometimes. If you can't talk to them though, maybe you should try a therapist? I know that mine really helps me through a lot of things concerning Laurens’ death and-”

“No.” He shook his head. “No, I- I can’t. I can’t go to a therapist, I can’t even talk to my family considering I only talk to my sister Elizabeth and that’s difficult enough as it is, and-” He let out a shaky sigh, feeling jittery. “I can’t” The entire room felt hot, his chest felt like it was on fire, everything was getting to be too much.

“Thomas, it's not healthy to keep this bottled up-”

“NO! NO I FUCKING CAN’T!” He screamed, pulling away as he curled up, holding his pillow tightly. He hadn’t yelled at Alex before, hasn’t yelled like that in years.

Alex froze, his eyes had gone wide and the hand that had been on Thomas’s was trembling with… fear. “I-” The Latino swallowed hard.

The realization of how Alex was affected hit him. “Fuck, Alex...” He started, slowly pulling away from his pillow as Alex got up on equally trembling legs and he crossed the room, yanking the window open for fresh air and he crossed his arms over the sill as he took several deep breaths. He hesitated as he walked towards Alex, wrapping his arms around him as he pressed his face into his hair. “Alex, I- fuck, I am so sorry. I didn’t- I don’t know what came over me. I shouldn’t have yelled, I’m so sorry.”

“It's okay… I was just trying to help.” He murmured.

“I know, and- I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.” He whispered, feeling sick to his stomach with guilt.

Alex turned around in his arms slowly and he sighed as he wrapped his own arms around him, “Yeah, well, I'm fine now. I'm just not used to you shouting at me.”

“I’ll try not to do it again, I promise. I’ll do my best to not yell at you again.” He squeezed him, he was terrified to let go of him. “Alex, I-” He stopped, he didn’t know if he should even say it. And yet, the words still slid from his mouth. “I love you.”

For the second time that night, the Latino froze up and he gently ran the pad of his thumb over his chin until Alex’s hand floated up to join his own, “Thomas- wow, it's a bit early for that, don't you think? Why do you love me?” 

“Why do I love you?” He asked, tangling their fingers together. “Well, where do I start? You’re a charmer, have been since we met. You’re sassy, and you don’t take shit from anyone.” He pressed their foreheads together, closing his eyes. “You care about your friends before anyone else, and you want to make sure everyone you know is okay even though you won’t make sure that you’re okay. You’re so selfless that you’re marrying your friend so her parents won’t force her into having an abortion. You’re sweet, and-” He opened his eyes, looking into the shining violet-blue eyes in front of him. “And every damn time I get lost in those eyes, I can’t help but feel safe with you. That’s not a thing I’ve been able to have in so long. I’m glad it’s with you.”

Alex sighed shakily, “I love you too, Thomas. Even if it is a bit too early to say that and I can name off a few people who think I'm not selfless, which I'm really not unless it's with certain people.”

Thomas stroked Alex’s hair, holding him close. “Come back to bed?” He asked, kissing him gently. “You can finish braiding my hair for me if you want, I won’t take them out tomorrow.” He promised.

“Yeah?” A small smile played on his lips and he dipped down, kissing him once more. “Okay, that sounds reasonable, Mr. Jefferson.” He teased.

“Oh, please, it’s Thomas around here.” He moved, pulling the Latino into a reverse piggyback, carrying him back to bed as the other laughed. He laid him on the bed, finally, looking down at him as he smiled, he couldn’t help but find the man more gorgeous each and every second he looked at him. He slid down over him, pressing a slow kiss against him as his heart raced. “I love you.” He whispered, the words falling effortlessly from his chest into the air between them. His chest kept feeling lighter and lighter as he smiled down at the smaller man.  They had survived their first fight and he felt like  nothing could possibly go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jinx
> 
>  
> 
> Update (7/30) : The next update will come either very late today or tomorrow!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, fam
> 
> Warning: Panic attack

After another visit to Martha ended in more tears, Thomas drove the three of them to a nature trail. It wouldn't really fix anything but he wanted to remind himself that life was beautiful, even if it hurt sometimes. Plus, he wanted to get Frances away from that environment. It wasn't healthy for a child to just stew over the inevitably of her mother’s death, even if that child didn't really believe that anything was going to happen to her mother.

“A nature trail?” Alex cut in through his thoughts as he parked his car. “Oh wow, you could've said that that's what we were doing today.” He teased but his expression seemed distant. He had been like this since last night, since their fight. He had thought that they had made up but Alex had barely touched him or kissed him since then. Maybe the fight was too much and Alex was planning on breaking up with him? He swallowed hard as he pushed the invading thoughts away.

“Yeah. Thought it’d be a nice change of pace. Besides, it’s been awhile since I’ve been on this trail.” He glanced around, his chest aching already. He glanced back at Frances, smiling as best as he could, but he knew that it was forced. “Hey, Franny, you ready to go on a nice walk?” He asked, humming softly. The taste in the back of his throat was acidic, painful.

Frances nodded as she unbuckled her own seat belt and swung down, “Let's go!” she shouted.

 

* * *

 

 

A quarter of the way through the trail - they had chosen the easy trail since Frances was with them - Thomas looked over at Alex’s disheveled form. His hair was damp with sweat and his skin gleamed with it too, his chest was heaving hard. The sight would've been erotic if the man hadn't of been laying on the ground because the easy trail was too hard for him.

Frances poked him with a stick, “‘Lexi!” She pouted.

Alex rolled over onto his back with a childish whine, “Go on without me. I won't make it.”

Thomas rolled his eyes, scooping Alex up and onto his back. “Here, you big baby.” He patted his hand gently as Alex buried his face into his neck. “If you get sick on me, you’re doing my laundry.” He joked, nuzzling the sweaty man. “And I’m not going to help you take a bath, either.”

“It feels like my legs are going to be sore for weeks, fam.” Alex complained.

“They wouldn’t feel like that if you’d do something once in awhile.” Thomas murmured, rolling his eyes.

“I do! I write!” Alex argued.

“But do you play outside?” Frances asked knowingly.

Alex frowned at her, “No.” He huffed, petulantly.

“Alexander, she’s right. You need to do more than write. You need to go outside, and walk, and also stop doing nothing and give more kisses.” Thomas hummed. “And being little spoon wouldn’t be too bad, either.”

“More kisses, huh?” Alex smirked and he gave him a wet, sweaty kiss on the cheek.

“Oh, yes. Perfect. This is the best kind of kiss. Sweaty, gross man-sweat.” He chuckled, looking over at Alex as his heart started to race. Then, he glanced over at Frances and she wrinkled her nose at them both.

“Gross. Can we start walking again?” She whined.

“Absolutely.” Thomas looked down at her, reaching for her hand as he held one of Alex’s legs with his other, humming happily as he led her and carried Alex through the trail. He needed the exercise of having a 140-pound man on him as he walked with a small child tugging on his arm.

 

* * *

 

 

Later that afternoon, nearing five, it was time to take Martha and Frances home. His heart felt heavy and full of lead as he got Frances settled in her car seat and he watched as Alex hugged her before getting into the passenger seat. He couldn't imagine how Alex was coping with this all, he seemed more attached to Frances and Martha than he did.

“Do you want to listen to some music on the way there?” Thomas glanced over at Alex as he got into the driver’s seat, he couldn’t help the feeling sitting in his stomach that something was wrong. Something terrible. Maybe his fears from that morning weren’t just foolish thoughts, maybe Alex was planning on breaking up with him, live with Eliza with Frances and her baby, just the four of them. Five with Maria. He’d be thrown out the second the wedding was over, get his money, and return home to drink and pretend that everything is alright.

He didn’t notice until his knuckles hurt how tightly he had been gripping the steering wheel as he drove. If he didn’t know better, and he absolutely did know better, he would’ve completely let go of the steering wheel. He was putting too much onto himself, his heart felt like splinters. His eyes slid briefly over to Alex and he found that the Latino was watching him with a confused expression. He quickly looked away.

“Thomas, are you okay?” Alex ventured slowly.

“Huh? Of course.” He lied, avoiding looking at anything but the road. He didn’t want to dwell on the thoughts, it hurt.

“If you say so.” Alex murmured, unconvinced.

He nodded, and even if the car had any noise inside, Thomas still felt like he was drowning in complete silence. He didn’t know what was worse, his heart’s aching, or the feeling that everything was too hot, too much. He didn’t know what it was, possibly his thoughts.

After they reached a parking place, Alex got out and hurried inside for Martha and he watched him as he stewed in his thoughts. This could be it. This could be the last time he sees Alex in his car, everything was aching now, he was feeling dizzy. He was putting way too much onto himself.

“Tommy?” Thomas’s eyes focused on the voice, searching around for the owner eagerly. His palms were hot. He was hot. Everything was hot and on fire and in pain and he didn’t like it. He felt sick.

“Um, yes?” He answered, his voice scratchy and his mouth dry.

Frances frowned at him from her car seat, “Are you okay?”

“I-” He didn’t know how to answer, moving to go to her and unbuckle her. “Franny, why do you ask?” He looked at her, taking her into his arms once she was unbuckled, holding her close, tightly. He didn’t want to let go, he didn’t know how one could simply let go. He knew he wasn’t crying at that moment, but if he were to, he’d insist fully that it was because he’d miss Frances and not at all because of his irrational thoughts.

“Mama says that when you're sad that you should name off all of your favoritest things to make you happy again.” She reached forward and patted his hair.

“That sounds nice.” He whispered, looking into her eyes with his own, smiling at her. “You’re so sweet, Franny.”

“Let's do it together!” Her eyes were lit with excitement. “I like turtles.”

“I like mac and cheese.” He watched her, taking her hand gently.

“Um, cowboys!”

“Chocolate cheesecake.”

“Fudge brownies.” She was beaming now.

Thomas couldn’t help the light chuckle from his chest, “Clothes fresh from the dryer.”

“Pajamas!” She giggled.

Alex came back into sight with Martha and he steered her to the car and helped her in by Frances, “Alright, we’re about ready to go.” He said as he moved into the passenger seat and shut his door, buckling up soon after.

“Right.” He kissed Frances on her head gently as he returned her to her seat, smiling at her as he buckled her back up. “Thank you.” He whispered into her ear, making sure not to let Martha or Alex hear. It was just between them.

 

* * *

 

 

They watched together as the plane took off and Thomas could still feel the aching pain running through him. It was hitting harder, and he knew it was just his thoughts, just his irrational fears, and yet, they were starting to take a toll on him. He didn’t feel well. Was he sitting down? When did he sit down? How long had he been there? His memory was fuzzy. A warm hand grasped his own and it snapped him from his thoughts.

“Are we going to talk about what's going on?” Alex asked quietly. “It feels like you're pushing me away.”

“Alexander, are you going to leave me?” It came out before he had time to register the words, his voice trembling as he quickly squeezed the hand, avoiding looking at him.

“What,” His voice came out shocked and confused. A second later, he gripped Thomas’s chin and turned him to face him. “Why would you even think that? I love you.”

“I-” Thomas was starting to tremble, the heat returning once again as he tried to grip onto something - anything. He found himself gripping Alex’s bicep, what little of one he had. It was enough to anchor some of him. “You’ve been distant. I didn’t know. I don’t know. I-” He couldn’t even speak anymore, his voice turning into a small squeak as he gripped tighter. His thoughts spun quickly in a never ending spiral of memories from his teenage years, the yelling of him and another man. The broken voice of ‘come back’. The loud slam of the door. The feeling of inevitability of loneliness and abandonment. All of the memories clutched at his heart in a vice grip and his breathing was short-

“Thomas? Oh fuck- okay. We’re doing this.” Distantly he saw what must have been Alex getting on his knees in front of him but he was far away from the scene. “Thomas? Can you hear me? You don't have to talk, just squeeze my hand.” Hand? When had Alex taken his hand? He didn’t even know if he was squeezing, was he squeezing? Was he squeezing too hard? Why was Alex so far away? Why can’t he be closer?

“That's good, Thomas.” The voice continued. “Now, can you give me five things that you can see? You don't have to say them, just think them to yourself.” Seeing? Could he even see at this moment? Where was he? Glancing around worriedly, he didn’t know if the red he was seeing was hair or his vision starting to go out. Was he going blind? Red. He saw red. That was one. Fuck. Carpet. Red, carpet. That’s two. There were two things. Pants! He had pants. Three things. Fuck, were there even two more things? Goddammit. Hand. He could see Alex’s hand on his own. Eyes. Eyes. He saw Alex’s eyes. He did what he thought was squeezing to let Alex know he’d thought of the five things. Red, carpet, pants, hand, eyes. He repeated the mantra in his head as he glanced around to make sure he could still see them.

“You're doing so well, honey.” The voice wasn't so distant now but it was still a long way away. “Can you do four things that you can feel?” Feeling. He didn’t know what feeling to trust first. Dry, his mouth was so dry. Thudding, he also felt thudding. From where, though? Was the thudding anywhere he could feel? His chest. It was his chest. Oh Jesus Christ. It was the thudding that was slowing. Heat. He felt heat everywhere. Why was it everywhere? He felt too hot. He needed to cool off. Dry, thudding, heat, fuck. What else? What else was there to feel? Tightness? No, there wasn’t tightness. Pain, more like it. His head felt like someone was drilling through the top of it. Dry, thudding, heat, pain. He focused on those as he squeezed again.

“Wow, you're so good at this! You're doing so well.” The voice had gotten closer and he knew it was Alex for sure this time. “Give me three things that you can hear, honey.” His voice. He could hear his voice. He could hear something hammering. The thudding from earlier, maybe? Yes, that was definitely it. Voice, hammering. Whoosh. He could hear a whoosh. They were still at the airport. Planes. Voice, hammering, planes. He squeezed, and yet, from his lips, he whispered out.

“Okay.”

“We’re almost there.” He could feel his thumb rubbing circles into his palm now. “Why don't you give me two things that you can smell?” He nodded this time, taking a deep breath to catch any aromas around there. The first thing that caught him was oranges. Like Alex the first time he brought him to his apartment. He felt as though he was falling forward, trying to catch the scent as he caught another scent: salt. Salt? Oranges and salt. Oranges and salt. He squeezed his hand again, nodding in confirmation this time that he’d gotten two scents.

Alex’s face was clear now and he could see the worried look in his eyes as he sat between his legs in the middle of the airport, heedless to the looks of everyone around them. “Last thing, baby. Give me one thing you can taste.” He whispered. He actually did fall forward this time, hugging him tightly suddenly.

“Acid.” He tried his voice, which was unable to speak over a whisper, almost mute. He didn’t know why he tasted acid, but it was there. Bitter, sickening, he didn’t like it. He wanted Alex. He needed Alex.

Alex wrapped his arms around him securely, “It's okay, baby. I'm not leaving, I promise. I've just been distant because of the wedding and I- I have a plan.” He admitted slowly. “I'm not marrying Eliza but I'm going to make her family think I am. Eliza and I decided to do a switch mid-wedding. She's decided to marry Maria, which is a little soon but hey- I have no room to talk, I'm going to be taking care of a kid with a guy that I've only known for a little over a month and I'm in love with the guy too. So, if she wants to marry a woman she met a little over a few weeks ago, why not?” His ranting was calming and a better anchor than just gripping his bicep had been.

“Alex.” He breathed out, burying his face into the Latino’s neck as he lost track of everything, only making room to keep Alex with him. “I wanna go home.” The words left him in a small whimper, unable to squeeze Alex’s hand anymore. He was grounded, he just needed Alex’s words.

“Home- of course, we can definitely do that. Home is a thing we can definitely go to. Okay, let's get up slowly.” Alex slung Thomas’s arm over his shoulders and he slowly stood them both up. “You ready, honey?”

“Mhm.” Thomas’s legs felt like jelly, holding onto Alex as a way to keep his balance. He leaned down for him, reaching and finding his fingers slipping into the man’s hair. “Keep talking.”

“Talking? Yeah, sure. Okay, so. I'm working on writing another book, right?” He started as he led him from the building slowly. “Well- okay, funny story - the main character, his name is Raphael - yes, like the ninja turtles- and he has this funny quirk. No, really. You wouldn't believe the quirk.” He flashed a warm grin up at him and his heart melted. “He likes to eat ice cream on baked potatoes. Who even does that? No one that I know of. Anyways, weird quirk, right? Well, somehow, even with this quirk, he ends up with this tall, handsome man with eyes the color of melted chocolate. Shit is great. Anyways, he ends up with this guy and the first time they talk, it's because Raphael just ordered this monstrosity of a dessert in Idaho- really, the only place you're going to find that clusterfuck- and the guy says, ‘really, now, baked potato ice cream?’ and there's this pause, the guy smirks and adds, ‘You must've  _ french fried _ your brain to freeze a good potato with ice cream’. Raphael is all confused because really, where the fuck did this guy get off on insulting his most passionate of foods?” He opened the doors to airport and they stepped out. “So, Raphael says to the guy, ‘You must be from Pocatello because you're really  _ Pokey _ about your food.’ It's love at first pun.”

Thomas started laughing, hugging Alex tightly. “You do know that if any Pocatello person hears or sees that pun, they will demolish you, right? That’s fucking gold.”

Alex laughed along with him as he opened the passenger door and helped him in, “Yeah? Well, let them try! I have muscles of steel.”

“Mhm, sure. Earlier today you looked like you were going to get sick after five minutes of walking.” He teased, and he soon realized why he tasted acid earlier from the loud growling noise coming from his stomach. “Mind if we get food, too?” He asked suddenly.

“Only if we can get baked potato ice cream.” He slid into the driver’s seat and smirked at him.

“Whatever you want.” He whispered, laying his head against his shoulder as he sighed happily. He remembered the night they fought, how it started. Alex was only trying to help, wanted him to see a therapist about his problems. “Hey, Alex?”

“Yeah?” He started up the car and pulled from the parking lot and he blindly placed his hand on Thomas’s thigh, squeezing it as he maneuvered the wheel with one hand.

“If I go see a therapist, will you come with me for the first visit?” He asked, looking at him gently.

“Oh, honey, of course I will.” He said without hesitating.

“Thank you.” He whispered, feeling a weight he hadn’t felt before lifting off of him. “And can we cuddle when we get home?”

“Of course, you don't even have to ask.” He smiled as he glanced at him very briefly before looking back to the road.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI, okay so, we updated chapter 2 or 3 and we changed that Eliza didn't know Maria. She did, they dated before she got with the guy who got her pregnant

Thomas sat in the waiting room of the therapist’s office with Alex, bouncing his leg nervously as he glanced over at the Latino next to him. Alex had a writing pad with him and he was jotting down notes speedily. He reached over, taking his hand as soon as he was done, squeezing it tightly. He was a nervous mess. He’d never done this before. What if he didn’t get the right therapist? What if he couldn’t even get therapy? What if the therapist was rude? He swallowed hard, shifting in his seat before finding himself laying his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“Alex?” He asked softly, turning to look at him. “Alex, what if-”

“What if you connect so fully with this therapist that you want to come back? What if the therapist helps you conquer your problems?” Alex cut in as he lifted their joined hands and swung them together. “Look, I'll be there the whole time, if the therapist says something that you don't like, we can just leave. No harm, no foul.”

“Why are you so good at this?” He buried his face into his neck, not being able to help the smile fluttering onto his lips as his chest fluttered. He liked it when Alex did things like this, it helped. It really helped. 

“Well, maybe it's because when I was seven, instead of getting into pirates and ninjas, I was more focused on helping my mother out with things and what she needed most was emotional support. So, I was there and willing to help her.” He shrugged as he kissed his head.

“You never talk about your mom.” He glanced at him, scooting closer as he placed his other hand on top of Alex’s, searching his face. There was a flicker of something there, maybe distress? It was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

“It's a bit of a tough subject for me.” Alex admitted slowly. 

He understood fairly quickly and he glanced away awkwardly before looking back at him, “You don’t have to talk about her, it’s okay.” He whispered, squeezing his hand gently.

“I-” Alex began.

“Jefferson?” A woman with glasses that looked like they could be out of a retro 50s-centric film and red styled hair that matched, called with her clipboard held close to her chest. She looked nice, not as threatening and tight wadded as he had expected. Even so, he glanced at Alex, swallowing hard as he got up. Every inch of him was on high alert and his mouth had gone dry, he couldn’t do this alone, he just couldn’t.

“Alex-” He started, unsure of how to ask him.

Alex didn't hesitate; he got up and he slipped their hands back together and gave him a firm squeeze, “Let's get going.” He whispered, that same damning smile on his lips that always sent his heart racing. This time was no different and it gave him the courage to nod and he squeezed his hand back as he followed the woman down a hallway and into a small office, swallowing hard. His palms were sweaty, his heart was racing, and no matter how hard he tried, all he could do was glance over at Alex worriedly and wrap his arm around the smaller man’s. Alex looked up at him and gave him a reassuring smile every time he squeezed his hand and it filled his chest with warmth.

Once inside an office, the woman had them sit down on the small couch sitting inside, taking a seat at the desk. “So, here’s the procedure, we’re going to have you fill these sheets out and ask you some questions, go about this as sort of a psychological analysis and way to go about this therapeutically. Is that alright?” She got the clipboard situated with some papers and a pen, handing it to Thomas, who took it hesitantly with slightly shaky hands. He glanced over at Alex, turning so that he couldn’t see the clipboard, filling it out quickly. He held it face-down when he returned it to the woman.

“Um, here.” He whispered, glancing over at Alex with hesitation, taking his hand and squeezing tightly. He could see the confusion in Alex’s face, which caused him to glance away quickly. He didn’t know what he wanted. He wanted Alex there, yes, but whatever the therapist was going to say about him, he didn’t want him to hear that. He didn’t even want to hear it. It scared him, no, terrified him. He sat there with a lead-filled stomach as he watched the woman look through the papers, turning to her computer to type things down.

“Hey, it's fine. It's okay.” Alex whispered into his ear and he moved his arm fully around him. “Look, she's just putting some stuff in. We probably actually won't get into really discussing your problems until the next visit, which you can do by yourself if you really want to. But if you don't, I'm happy to take time off of writing to come with again. It's no biggie.”

“Yeah.” He whispered back, and the lead in his stomach churned as it started to knot. He didn’t want to think about the next visit being just himself. “Thank you.” He looked into his eyes, leaning into him gently as he let out a shaky sigh.

“No problem.” 

“Alright, so your information is placed into the system. Do you want a simple synopsis from the information you gave so you can help determine goals for yourself during your counseling?” The woman turned around, smiling softly at Thomas, which caused him to tense up slightly. He looked at Alex, unsure of whether he should do this with him in the room or not. He didn’t want him gone, and yet he didn’t want him to hear what she had to say. His heart was hammering in his chest.

Alex, bless his soul, he pulled out a pair of headphones, put them on, and took his writing pad out.

“Um… yes?” Thomas answered finally, scooting as close to the man beside him as he could, squeezing his hand tightly as he tried his best not to run out of there. He had to hear this. It was the only thing he had to do.

“Well, from your information, it does appear that you have a general anxiety disorder, it doesn't seem like you have anything else... you said you had slight anger issues?"   
  
"Not really, small outbursts after long periods of time." He corrected, his eyes drifted from the woman and he swept some of Alex’s hair back from his face with a hum. Alex quirked his brows at him and his smile- damn. It had his heart racing.

"I see." She nodded. "Do you want to make up goals for your therapy? A time to start?"   
  
Thomas nodded, laying his head on Alex as he thought. "Maybe to open up more." He whispered.   
  
The woman started typing again and the click clacking comforted him strangely, "That all?"   
  
"Yes." He relaxed into his chair, humming. "How soon can I get in for counseling?"   
  
"Next month, same time." She responded pleasantly. "That good?"   
  
"Yes, that's perfect, thank you." He smiled, gently tapping Alex's headphones to let him know he was ready.

Alex jolted in shock and he flushed as he practically ripped his headphones off and stood up, “Ready to go?” He asked.

Thomas nodded, taking Alex's hand as he kissed it. "Mhm." He smiled. The woman had been really nice to him, he wondered if he was going to see her again. He hoped to see her again. "Let's go." He got up, smiling down at him sweetly.

 

* * *

 

 

When they got to their home- er, to his home, Alex went into hyper drive mode. He watched the redheaded Latino flit around the apartment’s kitchen as if he owned it and he barely got a look at anything he was doing and confusion rattled him. He didn't know what had gotten into the other and it worried him, profusely.

“Um, Alex?” He called and the redhead looked up with some batter on his face. “What are you doing?”

“What am I doing?” Alex muttered in disbelief as he stared at him, mouth agape. “You just had your first therapist meeting and it was a success! We need to celebrate.”

He could feel the smile on his face rising as he went to him, wiping the batter off of his face before tasting it. Slightly bitter, but he didn't mind, he loved it anyways.   
  
"You're so sweet, Alexander, you know that?" He whispered, kissing him slowly as he felt his heart beat fast. "I love you."

“I love you too.” He whispered softly as he rolled the batter into balls and stuck them on the cookie sheet.

He wrapped his arms around his waist, watching him as he kissed at his neck. "Mind coming with me to my next appointment?" He asked softly, slipping his fingers underneath his shirt to glide over his honey-kissed skin. Alex chuckled softly and he leaned into him after putting the cookies into the oven to bake.

“I already said I would, weirdo.” He chided softly.

"I know, but I don't want to bother you into doing it." He looked at him quietly, taking his hand before pulling him away from the kitchen and into the living room, getting on the couch with him. "I don't want to be a burden." He whispered.   
  
“A burden? You could never be a burden to me.” Alex scoffed as he settled forward on his knees and he gripped his hands tightly. “Why would you think that?”   


“I don't know.” He mumbled, moving forward and laying his head on Alex's shoulder. “Probably because I grew up in a large family, I don't know, I just don't want to feel like I'm annoying you, y'know?” It hurt to say the words, he didn't know why, but it did. It stung his chest and made it just a bit harder to breathe.

“Annoy me? You could never annoy me, Thomas.” He argued as he reached for him, cupping his face, and he kissed him. The kiss was intense. The kiss sent fires trilling through every recess of his brain and he groaned into it, letting himself fall deeper and deeper into the hurricane that was Alex. 

Clothes were quickly becoming a nuisance instead of a necessity and he tugged at the redhead’s plaid shirt, pulling it free from his body, and he chucked it to the side to be forgotten. “Fuck, don't stop.” He begged, desperately tugging Alex closer to him, trying to consume him into this storm. This need. This. He needed this, this storm, this drive. Him. He needed him. Alex, his Alex, his storm.

“I wasn't planning on it.” Came Alex’s grunt as he worked his own pants off and they joined the desolate shirt. His pretty flesh was on show for him now and he licked his lips delicately as he ran his nails along one of his sides, pressing them into him. He watched the lines he left and his gaze flickered into the intense violet blue eyes that stared back at him, even they, too, consumed him.

“How fast can you run to my room and get lube?” He gasped, reaching for him eagerly, unsure if he wanted to break away from Alex for the basic necessity or not. He felt fuzzy, felt hot, felt needy.

“How fast can you spell Mississippi?” Alex retorted as he lifted himself off of him with ease and he hurried to the bedroom. With Alex gone, the lust-filled haze dropped momentarily but it was enough for him to wonder. Did he really want this right now? When he already felt so emotionally wrecked? Dread pooled in him, Alex would probably be upset if he said no.

“A- Alex?” He called, gripping his shirt tightly as he swallowed hard. He could do this, surely. He's said no plenty of times, but-

Alex came back, climbing on top of him and snipped the lid open, “Yeah?” He purred. “Do you want-”

“Can we stop?” He blurted, searching his face and preparing himself for the worst.

Alex snipped the lid closed without hesitating, “Yeah, sure, how does a movie sound?” He asked as he tossed the bottle on the table.

“I- you're not mad?” He asked, touching his face gently. “A movie sounds great, but, you're not mad?” He couldn't even look into his eyes, biting his lip.

“Why would I be mad? Look, I need to go take care of myself but then we can get all settled in. You wanna grab the cookies from the oven and make some popcorn?” He asked as he leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss.

“Mhm, of course. You can use my room if you need to.” He whispered, kissing him back softly before pulling from Alex, making his way into the kitchen to start on the popcorn, getting the cookies out to let them sit and cool.

Alex walked off right away, “I love you!” He called loudly, and Thomas felt the heat rise to his face.

“I love you, too!” He called back just as loudly, a small smile on his face as he grabbed a spatula and some cooling racks, moving the cookies onto them.

A few minutes later, they were curled up and watching Pulp Fiction without a care in the world.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Us: (don't update for over a week)
> 
> Us: (POSTS THIS OF ALL THINGS)

The accident came on a warm Tuesday night that had followed a picnic between him, Alex, Eliza, and Maria and a nice dinner thereafter.

The day had been fine for the activity and he enjoyed the way Alex just seemed so relaxed in the windy breeze of the park. His red hair had swayed so peaceably in the breeze and his eyes held a beautiful sparkle in them that was fraught with intelligence and ambition.

Eliza’s dark eyes had been swimming with so much passion and love for the dark-haired woman that was stretched out on the checkered blanket beside her. Their hands were intertwined together like a lifeline. He could catch them trading promising looks and more than once, Maria’s hand had found its way to Eliza’s baby bump, which only earned several more affectionate looks from the young Schuyler. They were perfect for each other, there was no denying it.

Everything was going just so perfectly.

They had all started the beautiful afternoon laughing over stories of their pasts - even now, he could remember Alex’s laugh and words.

“- and my mother had decided to make a cake from our already limited supplies and it wasn't anything pretty like one of the cakes you get from the store but it was nice and I loved it anyways.” Alex had started out, hands pressed to the blanket as he leaned in, his eyes were alight with mischief and happiness.

“Oh, I think I've heard this story before.” Eliza commented with a sly smile on her lips.

Alex waved her off, he seemed so excited to tell his story and Thomas had leaned in to hear him better, “Anyways! I had this cake, right? I think, it was actually cornmeal with some frosting on it? Well, I was four and I rarely ever got to eat sweets, so the first thing that I did when the small cake was set in front of me was to bury my hands into it and I shoved it into my face. In my haste to eat it all, frosting got everywhere!” Alex accompanied this statement with a horrified look and Thomas smirked a tiny bit at him. “My hair, my clothes, and there was even frosting in my eye. I might have a picture of it somewhere, actually.”

“Wait, your eye?” Thomas asked, smiling happily. He couldn't help but remember his own childhood photos. He had frosting all over his face on his first birthday. A pink mess was he. “I can relate.” He hummed happily, kissing the tip of Alex's nose. “You're still a messy eater.”

An affronted look had taken over Alex’s face and his memory swirled. He couldn't remember exactly how Alex had retorted but he remembered the light, airy feeling in his chest.

After that, there had been more talk about the plan for the switch during the wedding and they had it down to an exact science on what they would do.

Alex would mix and mingle heavily during the meet and greet before the wedding but when it came time for the actual ceremony, Alex would be mysteriously vacant from the room but the priest- whom would already be debriefed on the situation- would continue like nothing was wrong and the pianist would start playing the wedding march. Everyone would probably be confused as Eliza walked down the aisle calmly with no Alex waiting for her but then Maria would stand up from the crowd and join her at the altar.

Obviously, there would be a lot of discourse and dissent on this but the priest would continue over them and with everything already paid for, all Maria and Eliza would have to do was say ‘I do’. Everything would be fine.

As for the orphanage, Eliza had slowly been taking money from her account in small increments that wouldn't send up warning flags. So far, she had enough to keep the orphanage running for a year and Alex had promised to help her after he published his book for the year after that money ran out.

Everything was planned out. Everything would be fine.

They had gone out to dinner that night. Just Alex and him. The scene played on autorepeat in his mind and he lost himself once more in it.

That was when Thomas popped the question. He had made a whole thing out of it.

Flowers that matched the violet blues of Alex’s eyes accompanied the ovular vase in the middle of their table and if possible, they brought the lively hue of his eyes out even more and in the firelight, they positively shone. He could wax poetry about how beautiful Alex looked in his green, rumpled suit for ages but he couldn't focus on that aspect of his memory.

He recalled the way that Alex’s warm, calloused hands felt in his own soft ones and he shivered unbidden in his reverie.

Words that had been spoken that night floated to the front of his mind.

“Alexander Hamilton, will you move in with me?” He had asked in an ever lilting voice.

Alex hadn't seemed too surprised by his question but even so, the man had leaned in, a smile on his chapped lips. Why were his lips chapped- a memory flashed, breaking the one he was focused on- pale lips that were almost blue. No, no, no… no. Blood soaking the pavement- Alex’s lips were chapped. A thought had occurred to him to let him use some of his chapstick sometime.

“Move in together?” Alex had asked flirtatiously as he squeezed his hand. “Why, Mr. Jefferson, you know that it's a sin for unmarried couples to live together?”

“I remember you once said you were going to hell, so why not go a step further?” He had whispered, squeezing the honey kissed hands in his own.

“Okay but I want us to look at actual homes together, if that's alright? I mean, we have Frances-” A flash of golden curls and tear stained honey skin flashed through him. No, he was on a date with Alex, why was this happening? “- maybe we can still stay in the Manhattan area?”

He couldn't remember his exact response to that but he was sure that it was a positive one because the next memory hit him like a freight train.

Alex was kissing him, kissing him with cold, blood stained- no. No, his lips had been warm. They were warm and they tasted faintly of oranges.

They were in his apartment and clothes were tossed away like they were just obstructions and they had made love with wild abandon on the floor. They couldn't have even waited to get to the bed.

That night, Alex had gotten hungry and he remembered the smile that was on his lips as he whispered reassurances that he would be back just after he picked up some takeout from the Chinese restaurant just a block away.

Everything was okay in that moment.

He kissed Alex at the door, he didn't want to come with him since he had already put his hair into braids. Besides, it was just a block away.

Alex ended up calling him after he had picked up the takeout and he focused on the memory more than he had for the others.

The wind was whistling, muffling some of the other sounds of the always busy streets of New York. Even so, he could hear the breathing of his boyfriend and the happiness in his voice.

“They gave us four fortune cookies and an extra egg roll. Tonight, we will feast as kings!” Alex had informed him with a sweet laugh.

“But who gets that extra egg roll? Who gets to eat a delicious extra egg roll while the other eats a different kind of egg roll?” Thomas chuckled, trying to play off a sexy mood with the intentions of him wanting to either get or give a blowjob.

“I call the different kind of egg roll.” Alex spoke quickly, he always seemed eager to get on his knees for him.

“Alright, alright. Just hurry home, though. It's dark and there's idiots who don't turn their headlights on sometimes.” He warned. He knew Alex could handle himself.

“I'll be fi-”

He could hear the distinct sound of a car and then a whapping sound that sent chills through his veins. It was followed by a very, low grunt.

“Alex?” He had called, his voice trembling. “Alex? What was that?”

No answer.

“Alex?!” Panic was rising in him as the realization of what had happened struck him and he was out the door and running as fast as he could.

When he got to the crosswalk that was still flashing with the go symbol, he saw Alex splayed out on the ground. His phone was cracked and abandoned several feet away and blood was soaking the pavement, he could make out the distinct metallic smell just from where he stood.

 

* * *

 

 

“ALEXANDER!!” Thomas snapped out of the memories that were becoming more and more twisted the longer that he thought about them. He was covered in blood. The blood of his boyfriend and the cold, hard seat of the waiting room chair was grounding him for the moment.

A few nurses kept giving him pitying looks but he wanted none of it. He wanted Alex but Alex was in an emergency surgery and from what a nurse who had come to talk to Eliza said, he had a few broken ribs, a collapsed lung, organ damage, cranial damage, and his hands were going to need to be set.

Eliza’s face was dyed with tears and Maria was beside her in scrubs and she was reassuring her that Alex could absolutely come out of this alive. She had seen a lot of patients pull through worse injuries. He decided to just take her word for it and his eyes darted to the small girl with honey gold curls that sat next to him, holding his hand. She still had tears running down her face and he suspected that he did too.

Frances and Martha had arrived only a hour ago, four hours after he did and they were still in their pajamas and Frances’s hair was mussed from sleep while Martha’s was thin and patchy in some areas- a result of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

Frances looked up at him with big, brown eyes, “ ‘Lexi is going to be okay, right?” She sniffled.

He could feel eyes on him, watching, waiting for his response. He absolutely didn't know if Alex would be okay or would ever be like he had been before.

Still, he nodded.

“Mhm. Lexi is a strong man. He’s going to be okay.” He could feel his voice breaking, a warm wetness falling down his face. He'd been in a hospital like this. He'd lost someone so dear to him. Different circumstances, different time and yet-

All too familiar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is interested in a fanfic that is based on John's death (and ultimately his experience in the after-life), my friend wrote a really nice one that has where John is a ghost and he talks to Alexander's son, Philip.
> 
> [On Your Side, Little Ham](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11783517)
> 
>  
> 
> (Disclosure: The fic in no way correlates to this fic at all but seriously, it's great)


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